- Large numbers of Iranians march in the eastern city of Birjand.
- The late president will be buried in Mashhad, at the shrine of Imam Reza.
- FM will be buried at the shrine of Shah Abdol-Azim in the city of Shahr-Rey.
TEHRAN: Thousands of Iranians took to the streets on Thursday to say goodbye to their late president Ebrahim Raisi and attend his funeral rites, whose death was confirmed on Monday.
Thousands of people, holding Raisi signs and waving flags, marched in the eastern city of Birjand on Thursday morning to bid farewell to the president, a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led his funeral prayers in Tehran.
The late president will be buried today at the holy shrine of Imam Reza, a renowned mausoleum in the northeastern city of Mashhad, reported Reuters.
President Raisi, 63, was traveling with his Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other senior officials when his helicopter crashed in the country's mountainous northwest while returning from the inauguration of a dam.
Among those accompanying the Iranian president were Supreme Leader Khamenei's representative Ali Ale-Hashem, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, two bodyguards, two pilots and a crew member.
All passengers, including Raisi, were pronounced dead when the charred remains of the Bell 212 helicopter were found early Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.
Tehran has launched an investigation into the helicopter crash and the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, has constituted an investigative committee headed by Brigadier Ali Abdollahi.
It was reported that the results of the investigation into the incident would be made public.
Large photographs of Raisi and black flags have been erected on the streets of Iran's second city, particularly around the shrine of Imam Reza.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abdollahian will be buried today at the shrine of Shah Abdol-Azim in the town of Shahr-Rey, south of the capital.
