TEHRAN – The office of the late Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s president who lost his life during a helicopter crash on May 19, has expressed appreciation at people’s large turnout at funeral processions held in major Iranian cities last week. 

“All these fervent and intelligent mourning that has crossed the borders of Iran shows that a new phase of the evolutionary movement of the Islamic Revolution has begun in reality, and the people of Iran have a great and historical responsibility to preserve, promote, and complete the great heritage of the martyrs,” the office said in a statement released on Tuesday. 

Estimates show that over 12 million people took part in funeral rites in Tabriz, Tehran, and Mashhad in the span of three days. Across the country, residents in small cities and villages also held their own funerals to bid farewell to the late Raisi, who was martyred alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and six other officials in Iran’s mountainous northwestern region. 

“Comprehensive resistance against the enemies of God, while maintaining national unity and cohesion, and by timely adherence to the commands and recommendations of the esteemed Leader of the Islamic Revolution, is possible. We should continue to advance in all political, cultural, and military fields despite the loss that we suffered,” the statement added. 

President Raisi is credited for significantly improving Iran's saddled economy and increasing the country’s diplomatic presence on regional and international stages. During his three-year tenure, Iran became a member of important international bodies like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Agreement. Its relations with regional and extra-regional nations also expanded significantly.  

Elsewhere in the statement, the late president’s office also expressed gratitude for Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s guidance during the turbulent time Iran experienced. 

“Once again, we express our gratitude for the fatherly and enlightening grace of the esteemed Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, and all this kindness, love, and sympathy of the great nation of Iran, and we ask Almighty God for success and prosperity for dear Iran and a long life with dignity for the wise leadership.”