Iran's President Raisi Declared Dead In Helicopter Crash
Date
5/20/2024 5:25:50 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) AFP
Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was declared dead on Monday after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic.
"The servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom while serving the people," state TV declared, showing pictures of 63-year-old Raisi as a voice recited the Koran.
Raisi, 63, had been in office since 2021, during a time that has seen Iran rocked by mass protests, economic crisis deepened by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch enemy Israel.
Condolences came in from Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and from Syria.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians late Sunday, as the search was still ongoing, to "not worry" about the leadership of the Islamic republic, saying "there will be no disruption in the country's work".
Under the Iranian constitution, first vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, should replace Raisi until presidential elections are held within 50 days.
Mokhber's interim appointment requires the approval of Khamenei, who has the final word in all state affairs.
Killed alongside Raisi were Foreign Minster Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, known for his fierce anti-Israel sentiment and scepticism of the West, and seven others, including the pilot, bodyguards and political and religious officials.
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