Iranian President Ebrahim Raishi killed in helicopter crash, official says

DUBAI:

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner long considered a possible successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the border with Azerbaijan, officials and state media said Monday.

The charred wreckage of the helicopter that crashed Sunday carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdolakhian was found early Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.

“President Raishi, the foreign minister and all the passengers of the helicopter were killed in the crash,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Raisi’s death was later confirmed in a statement on social media by Vice President Mohsen Mansouri and state television.

State television said images from the scene showed the plane crashed into a mountaintop, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash.

State news agency IRNA reported that Raisi was flying a US Bell 212 helicopter.

Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021 and since taking office has ordered tougher ethics laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard for nuclear talks with world powers.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the final say on Iran’s foreign policy and nuclear program, had earlier sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption in state affairs.

Prayers, searches

Rescue crews battled blizzards and difficult terrain overnight to reach the wreckage in the early hours of Monday.

“With the discovery of the crash site, no signs of life have been found among the helicopter’s passengers,” Iran’s Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Kolivant told state television.

Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programs to show the prayers for Raisi across the country.

The video shows a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a black mountainside on foot in a blizzard.

Several countries had expressed concern and offered assistance.

The White House said US President Joe Biden had been briefed on reports of the crash. China said it was deeply concerned. The European Union offered emergency satellite mapping technology.

Harsh, possible successor to Khamenei

The crash comes at a time of growing dissent in Iran over a series of political, social and economic crises. Iran’s clerical leaders face international pressure over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and deepening military ties with Russia during the Ukraine war.

Since Iran’s ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking Israel’s offensive on Gaza, fires involving Iran-aligned groups have erupted across the Middle East.

In Iran’s dual political system, divided between the clergy and the government, it is Raishi’s 85-year-old mentor Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, who holds decision-making power over all major policies.

For years many have seen Raishi as a strong candidate to succeed Khamenei, who has supported Raishi’s main policies.

Raisi’s victory in a closely managed election in 2021 brought all branches of power under the control of hardliners, after eight years under the presidency of pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a nuclear deal negotiated with powers including Washington.

However, Raisi’s position may have been undermined by widespread protests against clerical rule and the failure to turn around Iran’s economy, which has been crippled by Western sanctions.

Raisi was at the Azerbaijan border on Sunday to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint project. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who said he had said a “friendly” farewell to Raisi earlier in the day, offered to help with the rescue.