President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have been killed in a helicopter crash, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
“President Raisi, the Secretary of State and all the passengers of the helicopter died in the disaster,” said a source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Iranian news agency Mehr reported that, “all the passengers in the helicopter, including the President of Iran and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, died”.
They were killed on Sunday afternoon after the helicopter they were traveling in suffered a hard landing due to inclement weather, and appeared to go up in flames.
Intense search-and-rescue efforts, impeded by fog and rain, continued throughout the night to find the crash site in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, with diminishing hopes of finding signs of life. According to Iranian Red Crescent Society, all passengers of the flight died in the incident. Rescuers found “no signs” anybody survived the crash, the organization stated on national television.
Aside from the Iranian president and the foreign minister, the passenger list included governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malik Rahmeti, and Ayatollah of the Tabriz province, Ali Hashim.
Iran’s leadership approved the vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, ascending to the presidency. A special council consisting of Mokhber, the head of the judiciary, and the speaker of the Iranian parliament will be responsible for organizing elections for a new president within 50 days.
Ebrahim Raisi was elected president in 2021. The 63-year-old hardline cleric was considered close to the Ayatollah, and his coming to power consolidated the conservatives’ control over all aspects of the Iranian government.
