Thousands of Iranians lined up on the streets of Tehran to attend the funeral procession of President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a plane crash on Monday.
People holding Raisi images gathered in and around the University of Tehran, where Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is scheduled to offer prayers for Raisi and his comrades, including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The president's helicopter crashed Sunday on a foggy hillside in northern Iran on its approach to Tabriz after the party attended the opening of a dam project near the Azerbaijan border.
Did you read this?
A massive search and rescue operation was started, with support from Turkey, Russia, and the European Union. State
In the capital, large banners commemorate the late president as "the martyr of service," while others say "farewell to the servant of the disadvantaged."
Residents in Tehran got phone calls encouraging them to "attend the funeral of the martyr of service."
According to official media, the processions will begin at the university and travel to the enormous Enghelab Square in the city center. Foreign dignitaries are expected to attend.
Funeral services for the late president and his entourage began on Tuesday, with tens of thousands of black-clad mourners gathering in Tabriz and the Shiite holy city of Qom.
The body will be carried from Tehran to South Khorasan province before being transported to Raisi's hometown of Mashhad in the northeast, where he will be buried on Thursday evening following burial ceremonies at the Imam Reza shrine.
Following his death, global allies Russia and China, as well as regional countries, expressed their condolences, including NATO, while the UN Security Council conducted a minute of silence.
Messages of grief poured in from Iran's regional allies, including Syria, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, all of whom are sponsored by Tehran.
