Iran’s Supreme Leader Holds Special Funeral for Dead President
- Iran’s top leader led prayers for the country’s dead president.
- President Raisi and others died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
- Huge crowds attended the funeral in the capital, Tehran.
Have you heard about the big news from Iran? Iran’s president and others died in a helicopter accident. But the country’s supreme leader wants to show everything is still under control.
Ayatollah Khamenei Calls Mourners to Mourn Dead Leaders
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is Iran’s most powerful ruler. On Monday, he led prayers at a particular funeral in Tehran for President Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi and other top officials died when their helicopter crashed in bad weather over the weekend.
Huge crowds flooded the streets to attend the outdoor funeral service. People held up photos of Raisi and waved Iranian flags to show their sadness. Even a leader from the Palestinian group Hamas came to the funeral.
Iranian officials had sent text messages urging citizens to mourn at the service led by Ayatollah Khamenei. They wanted to put on an extensive display of national unity after this shocking tragedy.
Despite President’s Death, Iran’s System Goes On
While Raisi was Iran’s elected president, he was not the country’s most powerful leader. Supreme Leader Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guard military make most of Iran’s critical decisions.
So even though Raisi’s death was shocking, it won’t change how Iranย is runย in the long term. The system keeps going under Khamenei’s firm control.
“This was a big deal, but Iran’s government will carry on like before under the supreme leader,” said Lee Doucet, an international reporter watching the events unfold.
Iran Shows Off Its Power at Raisi’s Funeral
The vast crowds mourning Raisi are precisely what Iran’s conservative rulers want the world to see – a strong, unified country backing their strict Islamic system of government.
But there have been reports on social media of some people celebrating Raisi’s death. He was a hardline president who helped brutally crackdown on protests. The head prosecutor has warned against spreading “lies” celebrating the tragedy.
Still, the dramatic images of grief from the state-organized funeral send a clear message: Iran’s leadership will go on as strong as ever despite the president’s sudden passing.
What’s Next for Iran After the President’s Death?
So what happens now in Iran after this shocking loss of their president? Experts say Iran’s ruling conservatives will scramble to find someone as loyal to the supreme leader as Raisi was.
They’ll want to keep Iran on its current path without interruption. That means sticking to their strict Islamic revolutionary principles at home and an aggressive anti-Western policy internationally.
Whoever becomes Iran’s next president will almost certainly continue to defy nations like the United States. Iran is focused on protecting its conservative Islamist identity. The president’s shocking death may have been a surprise, but many things will stay the same.
Will Iran’s government change directions with new leadership in charge? Or is this a blip in the country’s unwavering revolutionary course under Ayatollah Khamenei? Only time will tell, but the supreme leader aims to keep Iran firmly under his strict control no matter who the next president is.
