Officials declare deaths of president and foreign minister after lengthy overnight search in difficult conditions; Hamas conveys ‘deepest condolences’ to the Iranian government
Raisi's helicopter crash near Varzaqan, Iran, May 20, 2024. (Iranian Red Crescent Society/AFP)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner long seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in a mountainous northwestern region near the Azerbaijan border, officials and state media said on Monday.
The charred wreckage of the helicopter, which crashed on Sunday carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, along with seven others, was found early on Monday after a 15-hour search in foggy weather conditions.
“With the discovery of the crash site, no signs of life have been detected among the helicopter’s passengers,” the head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told Iranian state television.
The Red Crescent later said that the bodies of Raisi and the others on board had been recovered and that the search operations had ended.
“We are in the process of transferring the bodies of the martyrs to Tabriz” in Iran’s northwest, Kolivand told state TV.
The deaths of all those onboard were confirmed in a statement on social media by Vice President Mohsen Mansouri, who posted a Quranic verse used to express condolences.
In an official statement, the Iranian government said on Monday that it would continue to operate “without the slightest disruption.”
“We assure the loyal nation that the path of service will continue with the tireless spirit of Raisi,” said the statement.
Possible successor to Khamenei
The crash came at a time of growing dissent within Iran over an array of political, social and economic crises. Iran’s clerical rulers have faced international pressure over Tehran’s nuclear program and its deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
In Iran’s dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is Raisi’s 85-year-old mentor Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, who holds decision-making power on all major policies.
For years, many have seen Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi’s main policies.
Raisi’s victory in a closely managed election in 2021 brought all branches of power under the control of hardliners, after eight years when the presidency had been held by pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a nuclear deal was negotiated with powers including Washington.
However, Raisi’s standing may have been dented by widespread protests against clerical rule and a failure to turn around Iran’s economy, hamstrung by Western sanctions.
Raisi had been at the Azerbaijani border on Sunday to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint project. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, who said he had bid a “friendly farewell” to Raisi earlier in the day, had offered assistance in the rescue.
Source: The Times of Israel
