Government Pressure for Public Mourning; Mandatory Business Closures to Participate in Raisi's 'Grief'

While multiple visual reports of people's joy following the death of Ebrahim Raisi have been circulating for several days, some sources report mandatory business closures for mourning the Islamic Republic's president in several cities. A visual report from the city of Baharestan in Isfahan province, published on Wednesday, June 2, shows the mandatory closure of the daily market under the pretext of 'public mourning' after the death of Ebrahim Raisi. In the image, a police vehicle is seen, and a citizen states, 'They didn't let people come today to sell their goods,' and those who 'set up their stalls have come by car to take their goods away, and unfortunately, they are not allowing people to do their work.' In another report, the news agency 'Kurdpa' announced that intelligence agencies in the city of Mahabad pressured the managers of the 'Asghari and Tanakoura' markets to 'completely close these two complexes on the day of Ebrahim Raisi's funeral.' An informed source told Kurdpa that intelligence officials 'went to these two markets on Tuesday evening' and 'warned the management of these commercial complexes that if the shops opened on the day of Ebrahim Raisi's funeral, they would face consequences.' According to this report, the two mentioned markets are 'one of the main destinations for travelers during the country's official holidays,' and their shopkeepers have 'never closed under any circumstances,' even during the Nowruz holidays and the anniversary of Ruhollah Khomeini's death and Ashura, when 'these markets witness the highest number of visitors and customers.' The report also states that on Sunday, coinciding with the announcement of the disappearance of the helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi and his companions, government forces 'were stationed near the Mahabad Boulevard bridge to prevent any expression of joy by the people.' According to citizen reports, some guilds and unions have also sent messages to their members announcing that Wednesday is a 'formal holiday' and that 'merchants and guilds and markets are also closed.' Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi and his companions, which Islamic Republic officials confirmed in the early hours of May 21, Iranians inside and outside the country are celebrating and dancing, distributing sweets and chocolates in the streets, with some calling it the 'National Helicopter Celebration.' Mandatory business closures occur while people's joy following Raisi's death is even evident in prisons; as the Islamic Republic announced a five-day 'public mourning,' a human rights source reported that political prisoners in Iran declared five days of 'public food.' Some citizens have also reacted to Ebrahim Raisi's death by sharing humorous content on social media. In contrast, Islamic Republic officials have warned users about their comments regarding Raisi's death in the helicopter crash, summoning and arresting several citizens. The response from political figures to Raisi's death includes statements from Amnesty International asserting that Raisi's death should not impede 'the Iranian people's right to achieve justice, truth, and compensation.'