Funeral Service Underway in Mashhad for Top Iranian Cleric

The funeral for Ayatollah Abbas Vaez Tabasi, the chief custodian of the Astan Quds Razavi, a charitable organization holding trusteeship of the eighth Shiite Imam’s shrine, is underway in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad on Saturday morning with senior officials in attendance.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has travelled to the holy city of Mashhad, some 900 km away from Tehran, to attend the funeral service, showing the significant position of the late cleric.

Heads of Iran’s three branches of power, President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, as well as many other ministers and state officials will attend the funeral service.

The body of the late cleric will be laid to rest near the holy shrine of the eighth Shiite Imam, Imam Reza (AS).