Iran President, FM Die In Helicopter Crash

The helicopter carrying the president and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest, located between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province.

It was transporting the president, the foreign minister, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem and a member of the president’s bodyguard team Mahdi Mousavi. The helicopter’s pilot, co-pilot and crew were also among others on board the aircraft. (Image)

President Raisi and his entourage were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate the Qiz Qalasi Dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

Following the announcement of the martyrdom of Raisi and his team on Monday morning, Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as head of the executive branch. Elected in 2021, Raisi served as the eighth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The cabinet held an emergency session headed by Mokhber, appointing Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as the head of the international committee of Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani wrote a letter to the Security Council and the Secretary General of the United Nations. Iravani said while the Iranian nation is mourning this tragic loss, the necessary measures by the government is being taken based on the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran to properly manage the affairs of the country in the absence of the president.

Following the announcement of the demise of the president and his entourages, heads of states, religious figures, and resistance movements from across the world. It is worth mentioning that the governments of Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and India declared public mourning in solidarity and sympathy with the nation and government of Iran.

Over the next days, different ceremonies are scheduled to be held in the cities of Tabriz, Qom, Tehran and Mashhad, where the Iranian people will bid farewell to the revered late officials.