Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei will perform the ritual Salat al-Mayyit (prayer for the deceased) at the funeral of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi this morning. According to media reports, Ayatollah Khamenei is planned to lead the prayers at the funeral service of President Raisi and his entourage who were killed in a helicopter crash, due to be held at the University of Tehran at 7 am today. A helicopter carrying President Raisi crashed in northwestern mountainous forests on May 19. Ayatollah Khamenei has offered his condolences on the “martyrdom-like” passing away of the president, declared five days of public mourning, and appointed the first vice president as the Acting President. Presidential elections will be held on June 28. The president will be laid to rest Thursday at noon in the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, where the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) is located. Pakistanis too have been mourning his death. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said in a post on his X account, “Pakistan had the pleasure of hosting President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on a historic visit, less than a month ago. They were good friends of Pakistan. Pakistan will observe a day of mourning and the flag will fly at half-mast as a mark of respect for President Raisi and his companions and in solidarity with Brotherly Iran.” There is absolute no doubt about the fact that both Raisi and Adollahian had set a model for service and diplomacy in the clerical establishment that came to power following the ouster of the Shah of Iran in 1979 (in January 1979, the shah and his family fled Iran. Mohammad Reza never abdicated, but a referendum held in his absence replaced his regime with an Islamic republic). The Raisi-Abdollahian duo’s approach to the Israeli war on Gaza had clearly added to their profiles; they were courageous and astute, so to speak. Iran’s unprecedented strikes on Israel last month say it all. The Iranian government, in my view, will continue to add to the capability and resilience of Palestinians through supply of arms, and financial, diplomatic and moral support to the just struggle of Palestinians. Raisi will always be remembered for making highly important contributions to maintaining Iran’s security and stability and promoting national development and prosperity. He used to work seven-days-a-week; in other words, he worked compulsively. Moreover, Raisi used to travel extensively from one Iranian province to another in order to reach out to his people on a regular basis. Surely, the Iranians will miss him.
Syed Hashim Reza
Karachi
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024