PM Shehbaz to attend Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi's funeral

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to leave for Iran tomorrow to attend the funeral prayers of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, ARY News reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi who lost his life in an unfortunate helicopter crash, will be buried in Mashhad on Thursday evening, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei set to lead the funeral prayer.

A high-level delegation from Pakistan will accompany the Prime Minister on this visit, paying homage to the late President and participating in a ceremony to honor the martyrs on Wednesday.

Helicopter Crash:

Hopes are fading that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister have survived a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather, an Iranian official said on Monday after search teams located the wreckage.

“President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash … unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead,” the official told Reuters.

Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday.

“We can see the wreckage and the situation does not look good,” the head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV.

Ebrahim Raisi, opens a new tab, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.

A Turkish drone identified a source of heat suspected to be the helicopter’s wreckage and had shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities, Anadolu news agency said earlier on X.

State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter.