In a tragic incident, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, 63, alongside the country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian and seven other senior officials, died in a helicopter crash.
Iranian news outlets confirmed the crash, which occurred in the mountainous northwest region of Iran.
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Rescue teams located the wreckage on Monday, following an intensive search operation in the fog-shrouded mountainous area.
The helicopter went missing on Sunday, leading to widespread uncertainty and concern within the country.
The crash comes just weeks after Iran conducted a drone-and-missile attack on Israel in retaliation for a deadly strike on its diplomatic compound in Damascus.
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President Raisi, a hardliner who took office in a 2021 election marked by low competition, previously served as Iran’s chief justice.
His tenure as president saw heightened repression of dissent amid widespread youth-led protests against the clerical regime.
Raisi was considered the second-most powerful figure in Iran’s political hierarchy, subordinate only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini.
According to the Iranian Constitution, the first vice president is to assume the presidency upon the death of the president, subject to the Supreme Leader’s approval.
The sudden death of President Raisi and other top officials has plunged Iran into a state of shock and mourning, as the country grapples with the implications of this tragic loss.
