DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran President Ebrahim RaisiThe country's foreign minister and several other government officials were found dead on Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy mountainous region in the country's northwest, state media reported.
This crash occurred as the situation in the Middle East remains unstable. israel-hamas warIn the midst of all this, Raisi, 63, under supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel last month.
Ayatollah Khamenei announced on Monday that Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Mokbel, will serve as acting president until elections are held.
During Raisi's tenure, Iran enriched uranium closer to weapons-grade levels than ever before, and Tehran supplied bomb-laden drones, further escalating tensions with the West. Russia involved in Ukraine war armed militias throughout the region;
Meanwhile, Iran is facing years of massive protests against its Shiite theocracy over economic decline and women's rights, making this a more sensitive time for the future of Iran and the country.
Iranians were among the dead Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60. Also on board the helicopter were the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, a senior cleric from Tabriz, three crew members, and members of the Revolutionary Guards, state news agency IRNA reported. IRNA said the accident killed a total of eight people, including three crew members, who were on board the Bell Helicopter, which Iran purchased in the early 2000s.
Iranian aircraft face parts shortages and often fly without safety inspections due to Western sanctions. As a result, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed the US for the crash in an interview on Monday.
Zarif said: “One of the main culprits in yesterday's tragedy is the United States. The United States… has embargoed the sale of aircraft and aviation parts to Iran and denies Iranian citizens access to good aviation facilities.” said. “These will be recorded on the U.S. list of crimes against Iranian nationals.”
State television has not revealed the immediate cause. Collision accident in East Azerbaijan province, Iran.
The United States has not yet publicly commented on Raisi's death. Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani will serve as the country's acting foreign minister, state television said.
Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released footage purported to be drone footage of what appears to be a fire in the wilderness, with “what appears to be the remains of a helicopter.” The fire started on a steep mountainside about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the border between Azerbaijan and Iran, according to the coordinates shown in the video.
Footage released by IRNA early Monday showed what the agency said was the crash site across a steep valley in the Green Mountains. “It's there, we found it,” said the soldiers, speaking in the local Azerbaijani language.
Condolences began pouring in from neighboring countries and allies after Iran confirmed there were no survivors from the crash. Pakistan announced a day of mourning, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X that Pakistan “supports Iran at this time of sorrow.” The leaders of Egypt and Jordan also expressed their condolences, as did Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Lebanon and Syria both declared three days of mourning.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said he and his government were “deeply shocked.” When the accident occurred, Raisi and Aliyev had returned from a trip to the Iran-Azerbaijan border on Sunday to work on opening a dam.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed their condolences. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Raisi a “true friend of Russia” in a statement released by the Kremlin.
Ayatollah Khamenei personally called on the people to pray on Sunday night and stressed that the Iranian government's work would continue no matter what.
According to Iran's constitution, if the president dies, the vice president will take over with the consent of Ayatollah Khamenei, and a new presidential election will be held within 50 days. Ayatollah Khamenei on Monday declared five days of public mourning in a message of condolence over Raisi's death and acknowledged Mokber's role as acting president.
State media said Mokbel had already begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments during Raisi's absence.
An emergency meeting of Iran's cabinet was held as state media announced Monday morning. Later, the Cabinet issued a statement pledging to follow Raisi's path and that “with the help of God and the people, there will be no problem in running the country.”
a A hardliner who once led this country's judicial community.Mr Raisi is considered a disciple of Ayatollah Khamenei, and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after Khamenei's death or resignation.
So far, the only other person suggested as a result of Raisi's death is the supreme leader's son Mojtaba Khameini, 55. But some have expressed concern that the position is only the third time since 1979 that the position has gone to a family member, especially after the Islamic revolution overthrew the Shah's hereditary Pahlavi monarchy.
Raishi Winning the 2021 Iranian presidential election, The vote had the lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic. Raisi is under sanctions from the United States for his role in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.
Under Raisi, Iran is now enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels, impeding international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war against Ukraine and launched massive drone and missile attacks against Israel during its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also continues to supply weapons to proxy groups in the Middle East, including Yemen's Houthi rebels and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, large-scale protests have continued across the country for years. The most recent was related to a death in 2022. Masa Amini The woman had previously been detained on suspicion of not wearing a hijab or headscarf, as preferred by authorities. The months-long security crackdown that followed the demonstrations left more than 500 people dead and more than 22,000 detained.
In March, a United Nations commission of inquiry found Iran responsible for the “physical violence” that led to Amini's death.
Raisi is the second Iranian president to die while in office. In 1981, amidst the chaos following the Islamic Revolution, President Mohammad Ali Rajai was killed in a bomb attack.
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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
