Iran Mourns President Ebrahim Raisi After Fatal Helicopter Crash
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared five days of mourning following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi.
President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were kill in a helicopter crash in the mountainous region of north-western Iran on Sunday. State media confirm the fatalities after the helicopter came down.
Ayatollah Khamenei expressed his condolences “to the dear people of Iran.”
At 63, President Raisi had been considering a potential successor to the supreme leader. In light of his death, elections will be held on June 28 to elect a new president. Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber has been appointing to assume interim duties, and Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani will serve as acting foreign minister.
Initial reports indicated that the helicopter made a hard landing in foggy conditions near the border with Azerbaijan, where President Raisi had been meeting President Ilham Aliyev to inaugurate the Qiz Qalasi and Khodaafarin dams.
On Monday, the Iranian Red Crescent confirm that the bodies of the president and other crash victims had been recover and that search operations had Ende. “We are in the process of transferring the bodies of the martyrs to Tabriz [in Iran’s north-west],” the organization’s chief said on state TV.
Tasnim, a news outlet link to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, reports that a funeral procession for President Raisi will be held on Tuesday in Tabriz. President Raisi, a hard-line cleric elected in 2021, had consolidated conservative control over Iran.
The Iranian government stated that it would continue to operate “without disruption” following his death. Numerous countries have expressed their condolences.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a national day of mourning, describing President Raisi and Mr. Amir-Abdollahian as “good friends of Iran.” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow on social media, while Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged full support to Iran and declared a national day of mourning. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China’s President Xi Jinping also offered their condolences, recognizing President Raisi’s contributions to Iran’s stability.
The EU extended “sincere condolences,” with European Council President Charles Michel expressing sympathy for the families.
Hamas and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon mourned President Raisi’s death, acknowledging his support for their causes.
Conversely, the White House highlighted President Raisi’s controversial legacy, with national security spokesman John Kirby criticizing his human rights record and support for regional terrorist networks, stating he had “a lot of blood on his hands.”
