Iran’s president, foreign minister among dead in helicopter crash

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, along with the country’s foreign minister and others, was found dead on Monday following a helicopter crash in a foggy, mountainous area in northwest Iran, according to state media reports. Raisi was 63.

This incident comes amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East due to the Israel-Hamas war. Just last month, Raisi, under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel. During Raisi’s tenure, Iran also advanced its uranium enrichment closer to weapons-grade levels, exacerbating tensions with the West, and supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine, while arming militia groups across the region.

Domestically, Iran has faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over economic struggles and women’s rights, adding to the sensitivity of this moment for Tehran and the country’s future.

State TV has not yet provided an immediate cause for the crash, which occurred in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

Among those killed was Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60. The helicopter also carried the governor of East Azerbaijan province and other officials, as reported by the state-run IRNA news agency.

Early Monday, Turkish authorities released drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in a remote area, suspected to be the helicopter wreckage. The coordinates placed the fire about 20 kilometers south of the Azerbaijan-Iran border on a steep mountain.

Footage from IRNA early Monday depicted the crash site in a steep valley within a green mountain range. Soldiers speaking in Azeri identified the wreckage.

Khamenei had urged the public to pray on Sunday night, expressing hope for Raisi’s safe return. Despite this, he emphasized that Iran’s government operations would continue. According to the Iranian constitution, the vice president takes over if the president dies, with Khamenei’s assent, and a new presidential election would be called within 50 days.

First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber began receiving calls from officials and foreign governments in Raisi’s absence, state media reported. An emergency Cabinet meeting was held, with a statement issued afterward pledging to follow Raisi’s path and ensuring no disruption in the country’s management.

Raisi, a hard-liner and former judiciary head, was seen as a protégé of Khamenei, and some analysts had considered him a potential successor to the 85-year-old supreme leader. With Raisi’s death, speculation may turn to Mojtaba Khameini, the supreme leader’s 55-year-old son, although concerns exist about the position passing within the family.

Raisi won the 2021 presidential election with the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. He was sanctioned by the U.S. for his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.

During his presidency, Iran enriched uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels, obstructed international inspections, and armed Russia in the Ukraine war. Iran also launched significant attacks on Israel and continued to support proxy groups like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Iran has also faced ongoing mass protests, the most recent triggered by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, detained over her hijab. The resulting security crackdown killed over 500 people and detained more than 22,000. A UN panel found Iran responsible for the “physical violence” leading to Amini’s death.

Raisi is the second Iranian president to die in office; the first was President Mohammad Ali Rajai, killed in a bomb blast in 1981, shortly after the revolution.