Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, performed funeral prayers on Wednesday for the country’s president who was killed in a helicopter crash, as thousands of Iranians packed the streets of Tehran on an official day of mourning. The president, Ebrahim Raisi, 63, was killed along with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, 60, and five others traveling with them on Sunday. Funeral observances began on Tuesday with a procession in Tabriz, the closest big city to the crash site in northwestern Iran. Iran’s security forces implemented tight restrictions on vehicle movement and parking in the area where funeral processions would begin, the Tehran police chief, Col. Abdolfazl Mousavipour, told state television overnight. State television also reported that public transportation would be free on Wednesday — declared a national holiday — to enable people to attend the funeral.

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Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Raisi, Abdolfazl Mousavipour, — Organizations: Tehran police, University of Tehran Locations: Tehran, Tabriz, Iran, Qom