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Wednesday will be a public holiday as a funeral for Raisi will be held in the capital, Tehran.
The ceremony is expected to feature high-ranking foreign dignitaries, state news agency IRNA reported, but it was not clear yet who exactly would attend given Iran’s status on the global stage. Russia, one of Iran’s closest allies, confirmed Tuesday that it would send the speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin.
Funerals will be held in two more cities on Thursday. Raisi is expected to be laid to rest in the holy city of Mashhad on Friday.
Raisi’s unexpected death led to scenes of mourning in Iran on Monday, as messages of condolences poured in.
But it was unclear whether Raisi’s death would draw public grieving on the scale of mass funerals like that for Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2020. The theocratic regime often uses such events as a display of national strength and unity.
Some expressed relief at the death of Raisi, 63, who was also known for presiding over brutal crackdowns on political opponents and protesters.
Laila, a 21-year-old student in Tehran, told the Reuters news agency that she was not saddened by the news, “because he ordered the crackdown on women for hijab.”
“But I am sad because even with Raisi’s death this regime will not change,” she said by phone.
Iran’s state media reported Monday that the country’s top prosecutor has already ordered action against those who publish “lies and insults” online about the crash that killed Raisi, after less-than-favorable comments about his death and legacy were shared on social media.
In a short statement late Monday, the State Department said the United States expressed its “official condolences” for the deaths of Raisi and the seven others killed. “As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the statement added.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also said that the Iranian government had asked the U.S. for assistance in the aftermath of the crash. Washington agreed, Miller said, but ultimately was not able to provide it, largely for logistical reasons.
The United Nations Security Council, of which the U.S. is a permanent member, also held a moment of silence for Raisi Monday.
