Hello and welcome. I'm Samantha Simmons. We begin in Iran, where funeral ceremonies for the President, Ebrahim Raïsi, are getting underway. After his body was recovered on Monday from the wreckage of a helicopter crash, events will take place across the country before he is buried. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, will preside over the main ceremony. Rescue teams found no survivors from the crash, which happened on Sunday, as Mr. Raïsi was flying back from a trip to Iran's northern neighbor, Azerbaijan. The Iranian foreign minister was also killed, along with everyone else on board. The cause of the crash has not yet been established. Let's speak now to Niko Kalbaqiani, who is following the story for us.

Niko, welcome to you. Take us through what we can expect today as the funeral processions in several parts of the country get underway.

Hi. So, yes, several funeral processions are planned for the next three days. Today, it will be in the northwestern city of Tabriz, close to the helicopter crash site. And tomorrow, we'll have the main ceremony in Tehran, the capital Tehran, where Superminder Ali Hamaneh will lead the prayers. There are also plans to host some foreign dignitaries as well. And the final burial ceremony will be held in northeastern city of Mashhad. And there are also other ceremonies planned for in different cities of Iran. And the state media has been promoting these ceremonies and also people coming to mourn the President, the Foreign Minister, and other officials that died in the helicopter crash.

Yeah, Niko, the news broke just over 24 hours ago, confirmation that he, the Foreign Minister, and others on board had been killed in this crash on Sunday night. What has the reaction been across Iran?

Well, across Iran, among the politicians and state media and the mainstream media, obviously, there have been a morning mood. Many have issued messages of condolences. The state media would also like you to think that this mood is also shared by people, and they promote these images of Iranians coming to the streets. However, there have been also a different mood of social media as well, where some ordinary Iranians, many opponents of the Islamic Republic, have been celebrating or cheering the death of President Raisi. Even the judiciary has warned the people against such actions online, and they might even bring some charges to people if continue to do so.

Niko, what's the analysis about what his death and the death of the foreign minister could mean for the country, especially given there will now be elections within 50 days to elect a new president, and also that Raïssi was expected or being lined up to possibly take over from the Supreme Leader when he passes on?

Yes. So immediate plans are these elections to find his replacement. The election date is set for 28th of June. However, we shouldn't expect immediate changes in one's policies in terms of foreign policies. Probably as Rice, he was handpicked and his path to the Presidents was cleared by disqualifying many other candidates. We might see the similar since for these elections. However, in the long run, Islamic Republic might have We have to think about the future as well, because, as you said, Raisi was one of the possible candidates to replace Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is 85 years old this year. In the long run, there'll be more questions about the future of the Islamic Republic, how it's going to continue its path, and who will really be next Supreme Leader of the country, who decides most of the issues, most of the policies, while the President is usually the second person in the country.

Niko, we've just got a live feed coming into us from Tabriz in Iran, where, as you were saying, that first funeral procession is taking place today, just getting underway. Take us through who these people are, who will be out on the streets attending these funeral processions.

There will be various officials inside the country. Obviously, there'll be many people, supporters of the government, who will come to these ceremonies. For Taboris, the first step in these final processions, and the main one we'll see probably tomorrow, where a Supreme Leader, Khomenei, is expected to lead the prayers. Yet to see who from foreign countries will come to attend those ceremonies in Teerant in Iran.

Okay, Niko, thank you for taking us through the latest there from Iran. Thank you. Thank you.