Uzbek officials pay tribute to Pres Raisi

Tehran, IRNA – The president, speaker of the Parliament, secretary of the Security Council, and the grand mufti of Uzbekistan, 20 ministers and deputy ministers, and 33 ambassadors of foreign countries in Uzbekistan paid tribute to martyrs of President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter crash.

The ceremony to sign the book of condolence for President Raisi and his entourage was welcomed by the government, military, security, law enforcement authorities, universities, religious-cultural centers, media, ambassadors, and representatives of international organizations.

A large number of presidents of universities, representatives of international organizations residing in Tashkent, scientific, cultural, and religious centers, journalists, and managers of news agencies attended Iran's embassy and expressed their condolences and sympathy.

President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan on May 19 when his helicopter crashed in Varzaqan, northwestern Iran.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and some senior provincial officials were also on board the helicopter who were all martyred.