IRAN’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Affairs Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian have been confirmed dead following the helicopter crash they were involved in on Sunday, May 19.
The ICIR reported that a helicopter in a convoy carrying the president, foreign affairs minister, and seven others crashed while returning from a ceremony to mark the opening of a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan in the Varzaqan area.
The crash scene of the helicopter was located on a steep, forested hillside, with only a blue and white tail left of the aircraft, according to Red Crescent drone footage broadcast on Iranian official TV.
According to reports, the crash resulted in hours-long search and rescue efforts, during which the European Union and Turkey, among others, provided aid. However, the dense fog and freezing temperatures made rescue efforts difficult.
The president’s death comes seven months into Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which has escalated tensions throughout the Middle East and exposed a long-running covert conflict between Iran and Israel and a delicate moment for Tehran on the domestic front.
In April, The ICIR reports that Iran launched dozens of drones and missiles from its territory to attack Israel. Also, some Iran proxies – Hizbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen launched drone attacks on Israel.
Iran’s hardline government has faced major challenges under Raisi in recent years due to youth-led protests against clerical authority and depressing economic conditions.
Ever since widespread protests erupted over the 2022 death of a young woman under the care of Iran’s infamous morality police, the country’s authorities have been cracking down harder on dissent.
Following the official news of Raisi’s death on Monday, May 20, Iran’s government has called an “urgent meeting” as the religious establishment, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prepares to pick a new president.
Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is next in line for presidential succession, and Khamenei, the final arbiter of domestic and foreign issues in the Islamic Republic, must confirm him.
According to the Iranian constitution, the first vice president takes over in the event of the president’s death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness for more than two months.
Raisi, who died aged 63, was reaching the end of his first four-year term as President.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2022. Contact him via email @ [email protected].