Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi has been found dead in a helicopter crash after an hours-long search, according to state media.
The 63-year-old and Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were among senior officials whose bodies were found at the site of the crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Monday, the state-run Irna news agency reported.
The officials were travelling following a visit with the Azerbaijani president to discuss the joint Qiz-Qalasi Dam infrastructure project over the Aras River, which separates Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan, when the helicopter crashed between Jolfa and the border region Varzaqan.
Raisi, along with the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter, according to reports.
Early on Monday, Turkish authorities published drone footage they said showed a fire in the wilderness that they “suspected to be wreckage of a helicopter.” The coordinates listed in the footage suggested the fire was around 12 miles south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the side of a steep mountain.
Up to 40 teams of rescuers – including Iran’s revolutionary guard, ambulances, surgeons, rangers, drones and dogs were involved in the search for Raisi – which lasted for hours as a result of fog, rain and dark, Iran’s health minister said.
The Turkish drone footage came despite Irna reporting that, as a result of the poor weather, it was “impossible to conduct aerial searches” via drones.
Eventually, footage released by Irna early on Monday showed what the state news agency described as the crash site, across a steep valley in a green mountain range.
Soldiers speaking in the local Azeri language said: “There it is, we found it.” Shortly after, state TV in an on-screen scrolling text said: “There is no sign of life from people on board.”
State broadcasters gave no immediate cause for the crash, but Raisi’s death was later confirmed in a statement on social media by Iran’s vice president Mohsen Mansouri. First vice president Mohammad Mokhber is expected to take over as president.
Raisi was viewed as a potential successor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since taking office in 2021, he pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.
Under protocol, Mr Mokhber, will run the affairs of the country before an election for a new president is held within a maximum of 50 days, which will be overseen by Mr Mokhber and the heads of parliament and the judiciary.
Supereme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who holds decision-making power on all major policies, insisted there would be no disruption to state affairs.
