Khamenei has declared five days of national mourning. Memorials for Raisi and his entourage began on Tuesday in the city of Tabriz and the Shia clerical centre of Qom.
Iranian media reported that in addition to closing cinemas, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has also halted all cultural and artistic activities across the country, including concerts, for seven days.
All Cultural Heritage Week events have been postponed, museums closed, all sports competitions suspended, wedding halls closed and wedding ceremonies postponed.
Following Wednesday’s procession, Raisi’s body will be taken to his hometown of Mashhad in the country’s northeast, where he will be buried after funeral rites at the Imam Reza Shrine.
The remains of others who were killed in the crash will also be sent to their hometowns to be buried.
Ukraine's top diplomat told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during talks in the city of Guangzhou on Wednesday that Kyiv was open to negotiating with Russia if Moscow was ready to do so in good faith, something Kyiv saw no evidence of currently.
Palestinian factions have signed a “national unity” agreement in Beijing aimed at maintaining Palestinian control over Gaza once Israel’s war on the enclave concludes.
Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, passed away on Friday, state media reported, according to CGTN.