Iran’s President Raisi is said to have died in a helicopter crash – DW – May 20, 2024

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and others were found dead at the scene of a helicopter crash, state media said. Raisi was 63.

State media did not give an immediate reason for the crash.

All nine people on board the helicopter died when it crashed in Iran’s northwestern East Azerbaijan region on Monday, state media said.

Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian were returning from a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The helicopter disappeared from radar on Sunday afternoon.

According to media reports, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in a helicopter crash.

“The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, met with an accident and died as a martyr while serving and fulfilling his duties for the Iranian people,” Iranian Mehr News Agency said.

Reuters news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying that both Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian died in Monday’s crash in the northwestern East Azerbaijan region.

The government has not yet issued an official confirmation of the death.

State media reported that there were no signs of survivors at the scene of the crash.

Ebrahim Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021 after rival candidates were barred from running. Since taking office, he has faced a variety of challenges.

Iranian authorities cracked down on dissent as widespread unrest broke out across the country in late 2022 following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Last month, Iran launched a rocket and drone attack on Israel amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Raisi was considered a strong contender to succeed Ali Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader.

If Raisi’s death is confirmed, his successor would be First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and new presidential elections would be called within 50 days.

Read the full story about the president’s life here.

Iranian state television reported that “no sign of life” was discovered at the crash site of the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and others.

“When the helicopter was found, there were no signs that the helicopter passengers were still alive,” state television reported.

The update came just minutes after rescuers said they had located the scene where President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter is believed to have crashed.

“President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned out in the crash… unfortunately all passengers are feared dead,” an Iranian official told Reuters.

Raisi and other officials were returning from Iran’s northwestern East Azerbaijan province on Sunday evening when the accident occurred in the province. Information about the exact location of the site was conflicting until Sunday.

Raisi was there on Sunday to inaugurate a dam together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Search teams were able to reach the wreckage of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials, state television reported in the early hours of Monday.

The head of Iran’s Red Crescent said on Monday the “helicopter had been found” and rescue teams were moving closer to the site. Pirhossein Koolivand added that the “situation is not good.”

State television IRIB said on Sunday the helicopter belonged to the Iranian Red Crescent. The helicopter Raisi was traveling in crashed in a remote location in northern Iran on Sunday evening due to bad weather.

Harsh weather conditions in the area made it difficult to continue search operations as the president had been missing for more than 12 hours as of Monday morning.

Traveling with the president in the helicopter were Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and several other passengers, state media said.

rm/sms (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)