Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and seven others were confirmed dead after their helicopter crashed on Sunday, Iranian officials and state media said Monday, disrupting the power structure in Tehran as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues his increasingly aggressive campaign for regional dominance.
After Raisi’s death was reported by state media, Khameini announced five days of national mourning and appointed Mohammad Mokhber, first vice president, to temporarily succeed Raisi as president. An election to determine Raisi’s official successor for the next four years is supposed to take place within 50 days under Iran’s constitution.
The helicopter crash site was found in the mountains near the Azerbaijan border under blizzard conditions.
State television reported that images showed the helicopter crashed into a mountain peak, but the authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash. Ahmad Vahidi, the Iranian interior minister, cited poor weather conditions as a potential factor.
The accident occurred near the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, close to the city of Jolfa. Raisi was visiting Azerbaijan over the weekend to celebrate the inauguration of a new dam on the Aras River in northwestern Iran.
Ayatollah Al Hashem, Imam of Tabriz, Malik Rahmati, Governor of East Azerbaijan, and others reportedly accompanied Raisi on the helicopter, according to Iranian news outlet Tasnim.
Raisi, who became president in June 2021, was seen as a potential successor to Khamenei. He was previously in charge of Iran’s judiciary and in 2019, was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for his role in approving the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988.
“The people of Iran should not worry, there will be no disruption in the work of the country,” Khamenei said of Sunday’s helicopter crash at the time. “We hope that Almighty God will return the respected and honorable president and his companions to the arms of the nation. Everyone should pray for the health of this group of servants.”
President Joe Biden and his cabinet were briefed on the unfolding situation, the White House said Sunday. Foreign officials from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and Iraq have all expressed their sympathies, and willingness to provide search and rescue support to Iran.
Raisi’s death comes as Iran makes increasingly aggressive plays to assert its dominance in the Middle East, launching a direct missile attack on Israel for the first time in history while aiding its proxy Hamas in its war against the Jewish state.
Israel denied it had any involvement in the fatal crash.