Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other officials were found dead on Monday after their helicopter crashed in a foggy area, Iranian state media reported. .
Officials’ bodies were searched for several hours as state television did not reveal the immediate cause of the crash.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei announced that First Vice President Mohammad Mokbel will replace Raisi as acting president. Khamenei also declared five days of mourning in the country following the crash.
Raisi is a hard-line conservative who is considered a disciple of Ayatollah Khamenei and was his chief policy executor.
Raisi oversaw a brutal crackdown on protests in recent years, following the death in 2022 of Mahasa Amini, a woman who was allegedly wearing a loose headscarf (hijab). The crackdown left more than 500 people dead, many of them fighting what they saw as economic and social injustice.
During his term as president, Raisi oversaw Iran’s enrichment of uranium closer to weapons-grade levels than ever before. Iran also supplied bomb-laden drones to Russia as it waged war in Ukraine and supported regional militaries.
Mr. Raisi’s presidency has also been marked by his country’s shadow war with Israel in the Middle East, with Mr. Raisi threatening direct attacks on Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing Israeli war. The war reached its climax when it was aided. In Gaza.
His death was mourned by authoritarian leaders and extremist groups in the region, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and members of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Taliban.
The Associated Press contributed.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
