Iran’s President Raisi killed in helicopter crash

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in northeastern Iran. 

State media verified the tragedy, which occurred on Sunday. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and numerous others are also said to be among the dead.

Raisi was the Islamic Republic’s second most powerful person, after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mohammad Mokhber, Iran’s First Vice President, has been named acting president, while chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani has been designated acting foreign minister.

The president’s death occurred at a sensitive time in the Middle East, only weeks after Iran conducted a drone and missile attack on Israel in reaction to a deadly strike on its diplomatic facility in Damascus.

Hardliner Raisi was elected president in an unusually uncompetitive election in 2021. He oversaw increased repression of dissent in a country gripped by youth-led rallies against ecclesiastical control.

Raisi’s chopper was carrying nine people when it crashed

Nine people were on the helicopter that crashed in northwest Iran on Sunday, including three officials, an imam and flight and security team members, Iran’s Tasnim news reported. 

The IRGC-run media outlet, Sepah, reported the nine included:

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
• Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
• Governor of Eastern Azerbaijan province Malek Rahmati
• Tabriz’s Friday prayer Imam Mohammad Ali Alehashem
• Other passengers include a pilot, co-pilot, crew chief, head of security and another bodyguard

“No survivors” were discovered at the crash scene of the chopper carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian agencies said.

Iranian state news agency IRINN and semi-official news agency Mehr News stated that “no survivors” had been discovered at the crash site of the chopper carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi.

Background: Raisi was Iran’s eighth president and a former hardline top justice. The former judge and prosecutor was chosen in 2021 after a presidential election that had never before been as uncompetitive.

Human rights observers claim that he oversaw a period of increased suppression of opposition.

If Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, gives his approval, First Vice President Muhammad Mokhber would come next in the line of succession.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader has far more authority than its president to decide both internal and external matters.

As opposed to the centrist previous president Hassan Rouhani, Raisi had developed a strong bond with Khamenei. Many Iranians thought Raisi was being prepared to replace the sickly 85-year-old Khamenei at some point.

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