Crowds gathered in Tehran for the funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday morning, where several events will be held before his burial in Mashhad in north-eastern Iran.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has declared five days of national mourning, led funeral prayers at Tehran University, attended by foreign dignitaries and representatives of Iran-backed militant groups from across the region.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was seen among mourners surrounding Mr Raisi's coffin as state TV broadcast footage of large crowds gathering across the capital, where black flags and Iranian flags intermingled on Tehran’s main thoroughfares.
Mourning ceremonies were held in Tabriz, north-western Iran, and the holy city of Qom on Tuesday, after the death of the Iranian leader in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Mr Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several other officials were killed in the crash while returning from the inauguration of a dam on the border with Azerbaijan.
The funeral cortege moved through central Tehran to the city's Enghelab Square on Wednesday afternoon.
State TV ran footage of clerics, army generals and other mourners crying at the university gathering, while crowds of Mr Raisi's supporters prayed in Enghelab Square and other sites across the city.
Tehran residents received phone messages urging them to “attend the funeral of the martyr of service”, AFP reported, while Wednesday was declared a national holiday.
Everyone onboard the helicopter died immediately except for Mohammed Ali Ale Hashem, Mr Khamenei's representative for East Azerbaijan province, the president's chief of staff said on Wednesday.
Mr Raisi's helicopter was the second of three travelling in a presidential convoy, Gholamhossein Esmaili said.
He said the weather was “good” before the convoy encountered fog in a “limited area".
Mr Ale Hashem used the pilot's phone to make a call, saying he was injured and surrounded by trees. He answered calls for three or four hours after the crash as rescue teams scoured the mountainside in heavy fog.
Tehran has refuted Ankara's claims a Turkish drone found the wreckage, claiming its own drones possess superior radar.
The Iranian army said one of its drones was recalled from the Indian Ocean and found the wreckage after a Turkish drone had scoured the area.
In his first public appearance since the International Criminal Court announced it would seek his arrest, Mr Haniyeh told mourners Mr Raisi was a “steadfast” supporter of the Palestinian cause and recalled meeting him on the Palestinian issue during Ramadan.
Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem was seen alongside Mr Haniyeh.
Egypt, Iraq, Armenia and China were among countries that sent representatives to Mr Raisi's funeral.
The hardline president, 63, who took office in 2021, had been widely expected to succeed Mr Khamenei, 85, as supreme leader.
State-run and affiliated media outlets published conflicting reports on the number of foreign dignitaries attending the funeral.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said more than 50 foreign delegations attended the ceremony in Tehran, including 10 heads of state.
Other media outlets suggested 15 heads of state and 40 foreign delegations had travelled to the capital.
Large crowds turned out in Tabriz on Tuesday as a lorry carrying the caskets of the deceased moved slowly through streets lined with portraits of Mr Raisi and his colleagues.
Their coffins were then transferred to Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, where a guard of honour awaited, before a procession through the clerical heartland of Qom, south of Tehran.
Ceremonies will continue in Birjand, in eastern Iran, on Thursday morning, before the burial of Mr Raisi at the Imam Ali Reza shrine in Mashhad.
Mr Amirabdollahian will be buried in the Shah Abdol Azim shrine, in the city of Rey, in Tehran province, the final resting place of numerous clerics and politicians.
Mr Raisi's time in office was marked by some of the most tumultuous periods in Iran's history, including nationwide protests caused by the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.
The 22-year-old died after being detained by the morality police in Tehran for wearing her hijab “improperly”.
Hundreds of people were killed in the ensuing clampdown on protests, with at least 20,000 arrested and several executed for joining demonstrations.
Iran also hastened its nuclear activity during Mr Raisi's presidency, enriching record levels of uranium despite international sanctions and banning UN inspectors from visiting nuclear sites. It also drew the ire of the EU for weapons sales to Russia.
Mr Khamenei has led tributes for the late president, while mourning from the general population has been muted, noting his role in the execution of political prisoners and oppression of regime critics.
The family of the IRGC's Quds Force Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani, who was assassinated by the US in Iraq in 2020, said Mr Raisi “lived as a martyr” and “came to a good end”.
Mr Raisi's predecessor, Hassan Rouhani, said a “bitter page has been turned in the book of the Islamic Revolution”.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
