Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi & foreign minister die in helicopter crash
TEHRAN, May 20 (SABAH): Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather, an Iranian official said on Monday, after search teams located the wreckage.
“President Raisi, the foreign minister and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash,” the senior Iranian official told media. Later, the development was confirmed by Vice President Mohsen Mansouri in a statement on social media and on state television.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and Friday prayer leader of Tabriz Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem were also aboard the copter.
Iran’s Mehr news agency confirmed the deaths, reporting that “all passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred”.
An Iranian official earlier told media the helicopter carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was completely burned in the crash on Sunday. State TV reported that images from the site showed the aircraft slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash.
State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter. Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear programme, had earlier sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.
Khamenei said on Monday that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is in charge of the executive branch and has a maximum period of 50 days to hold elections following the death of Raisi, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported, as he also declared five days of national mourning.
In a related development, Iran’s government cabinet appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister following the death of Amirabdollahian.
Following the official announcement, the Iranian cabinet held an emergency session headed by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber.
In a statement, the cabinet assured the “loyal, appreciative and beloved” Iranian nation that President Raisi’s path will continue and not even a slight disruption will be caused in administrating the country’s affairs.
Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in the early hours of Monday. “With the discovery of the crash site, no signs of life have been detected among the helicopter’s passengers,” the head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV.
Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country. In the early hours of Monday, it showed a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot in a blizzard. China said it was deeply concerned. The European Union offered emergency satellite mapping technology.