Vice President Dhankhar pays tribute to late Iranian President Raisi

TEHRAN: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday met Iran's acting President Mohammad Mokhber here and conveyed condolences over the tragic demise of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash. Dhankhar, who is leading the Indian delegation at the official funeral ceremony, paid tributes to Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian, and other Iranian officials who died in the crash.

A one-day state mourning was observed across India on Tuesday as a mark of respect for Raisi.

Vice President Dhankhar paid tributes to late President Raisi, late Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other Iranian officials in Tehran today, his office said in a post on X along with pictures of the event.

"VP Jagdeep Dhankhar met Acting President of Iran, Dr. Mohammad Mokhber in Tehran today. VP conveyed condolences on the tragic demise of President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister H. Amir-Abdollahian," the External Affairs Ministry said in a separate post on X.



Dhankhar, who arrived here earlier in the day to attend the official funeral ceremony, was received by the Iranian authorities on his arrival in Tehran.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have conveyed their condolences on the demise of Raisi.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the embassy of Iran in New Delhi on Tuesday to convey India's condolences on the loss.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over a funeral on Wednesday for the country's late president, foreign minister, and others killed in the crash. Thousands of people attended the funeral procession of the late president and his companions.

Several world leaders attended the official funeral ceremony in Tehran.

The Iranian president, the country's foreign minister, and several other officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region in the northwestern part of the country, Iran state media reported.

Raisi, 63, and his entourage were heading to Tabriz city after returning from a visit to a locality on the Azerbaijan-Iran border on Sunday.