Supporters in Tehran mourn death of Iran President Raisi

(21 May 2024)
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Tehran, Iran - 20 May 2024
1. Mourners gathered in central Tehran
2. Mourners holding pictures of President Ebrahim Raisi
3. Mourner crying
++OVERLAID WITH SOUNDBITE SHOT 5++
4. Man and woman in tears, woman holding picture of Raisi
5. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Hasti Amiri, Tehran resident:
"From the moment we heard (news of the crash) yesterday we were worried what was going to happen to us, to him (Ebrahim Raisi) and to our country? Last night we kept checking the news, until dawn. All of us were devastated."
6. Mourners raising hands
++OVERLAID WITH SOUNDBITE SHOT 8++
7. Woman crying
8. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Mohammad Beheshti, Tehran resident:
"We were shocked that we lost such a character, a character that made Iran proud, and humiliated the enemies. Especially during the past month we saw how his power humiliated Israel and America, and how Iran was elevated to greatness."
9. High angle of mourners
10. Woman crying while holding a picture of Raisi
11. Mourners



STORYLINE:
Hundreds of people gathered in central Tehran on Monday to mourn the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead early Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in the Shiite theocracy, quickly named a little-known vice president as caretaker and insisted the government was in control, but the deaths mark yet another blow to a country beset by pressures both at home and abroad.

Iran has offered no cause for the crash nor suggested sabotage brought down the helicopter, which fell in mountainous terrain in a sudden, intense fog.

In Tehran, Iran’s capital, businesses were open and children attended school Monday.

However, there was a noticeable presence of both uniformed and plainclothes security forces downtown.

The crash comes as the Israel-Hamas war roils the region.

Iran-backed Hamas led the attack that started the conflict, and Hezbollah, also supported by Tehran, has fired rockets at Israel.

Last month, Iran launched its own unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel.

AP video shot by Mohsen Ganji

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