Iranian President Raisi killed in helicopter crash

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, and his foreign minister Hossein Amr-Abdollahian, have been killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday night in the north of the country near the border with Azerbaijan, State Television has confirmed.

Rescue teams finally reached the site of the helicopter crash where dense fog and adverse weather conditions impeded rescue and recovery efforts.

“Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet,” state TV reported. The helicopter carrying the head of the state crashed during President Raisi’s return flight to Tabriz after he and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the Qiz Qalasi Dam on the border.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged calm and assured his people that there would be no disruption in the country’s governance.

Vice President Mohammad Mokhbar is expected to become the new President now, Al Jazeera has reported.

Raisi became president in 2021.