Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric once seen as a potential successor to the nation’s supreme leader, has died in a helicopter crash Sunday along with seven other senior officials, state media reported.
The charred wreckage of the U.S.-made helicopter was found on Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions in a mountainous area near the Azerbaijan border, according to reports.
All aboard perished, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced five days of public mourning and said First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, another hardliner, would take over as interim president. However, under Iran’s constitution, a new presidential election must be held within 50 days.
The deadly crash comes at a time of deep domestic turmoil and soaring regional tensions for Iran’s Shiite cleric-led government. Mass protests have erupted over economic woes and social restrictions, while Tehran’s nuclear program and military cooperation with Moscow have drawn renewed international criticism.
Video footage from the crash site showed the helicopter’s burned wreckage scattered down a fog-shrouded slope. The cause was still under investigation, though Iranian media blamed the poor weather and said the chopper slammed into a mountaintop.
An Israeli official dismissed any claims that Israel, Iran’s arch-nemesis, was involved. “It wasn’t us,” the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Raisi, 62, a conservative judiciary chief, had solidified his power after taking office in 2021 and was rumored to be a potential candidate to be the country’s top leader once Khamenei exits the scene.
The crash also killed the governor of East Azerbaijan province and a prominent imam from the city of Tabriz, among others. Iran’s deputy foreign minister was tapped to run that ministry.
In a sign of escalating regional tensions, recent weeks saw deadly clashes involving Iranian allies in Yemen, Syria and the Gaza Strip, which was pounded by the Israeli military after militant Hamas attacks.
As Iran’s theocratic government weighs its next moves, continued unrest at home and potential escalation abroad pose risks during this transition period.
