Funeral rites for Iran's president and seven others who died in a helicopter crash have begun
- In Tabriz, thousands of people gathered on the streets to mourn President Raisi
- The funeral procession is now moving to Qom, considered the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad.
- But despite the huge crowds, not all Iranians supported the president - and many celebrated his death on social media
- Raisi's body is expected to be buried in his birthplace, Mashhad, on Thursday
- This week of mourning will be a test for Iran’s conservative leaders who want to send a clear and convincing signal of continuity.
Some more lines now from that trade summit in Kazakhstan, where we've just heard from Russia’s foreign minister.
While speaking about the helicopter crash that killed the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Sergei Lavrov has blamed US sanctions against Iran for causing aviation safety issues inside the country.
“By implementing the sanctions that include a ban on supplies of service parts for the US-made aviation products put people's lives at risk,” Lavrov said during a visit to Kazakhstan for a trade summit.
“The Americans disown this, but the truth is that other countries against which the United States announced sanctions do not receive spare parts for American-made equipment, including aviation.”
According to Iranian media, Raisi was travelling in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter before it crashed into a mountain peak. An investigation is under way in Iran to find out the cause.
Decades of sanctions by the US and some other major suppliers have made it hard for Iran to obtain parts or upgrade its aircraft fleet.
THIS AND MORE UPDATES AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-69039735
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