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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died on Sunday in a helicopter crash, according to the country’s official media.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian also died in Sunday’s accident, along with several other people.
Search teams found the crash site of the helicopter carrying Raisi on Monday, and state television said there were “no signs of life.”
The ship suffered an “emergency landing” on Sunday, according to official media, after it encountered difficulties amid heavy fog in the north of the country.
President Raisi was accompanying the Iranian Foreign Minister in a convoy of three helicopters that were flying over the region.
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Dr Ayatollah Ali KhameneiThe highest authority in the country asked Iranians to pray for my president.
“If the Iranian people remain calm, the country will continue to function normally,” he said, calling for calm.
Interior Minister Ahmed Wahidi said that rescue teams are facing difficulty in reaching the scene of the accident due to harsh weather conditions and dense fog.
A journalist from Fars News Agency said visibility in the mountainous and forested area was only about five meters on Sunday.
What is known
- Iranian state television said that rescue teams found the helicopter carrying the Iranian president. Ibrahim Raisiand Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian, after he was involved in an accident, and that “there are no signs of life.”
- State media said the plane, one of three in the presidential motorcade, was damaged “forced landing” After suffering from difficulties due to… Heavy fog In the north of the country.
- Interior Minister Ahmed Wahidi said that rescue teams had difficulty reaching the scene due to floods Difficult weather conditions.
- Raisi was traveling to the city of Tabriz, northwest of the country, after returning from an event On Iran’s border with Azerbaijanaccording to local media.
Image source, Reuters
The area is located about 50 km north of the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran.
According to local media, President Raisi was heading towards Tabriz after returning from the border with Azerbaijan, where he opened the Qiz Qalasi and Khudafarin dams.
Ahmed Ali Rezabeigi, the Iranian MP for the city of Tabriz, told the media in Tehran that the other two helicopters in the convoy landed safely.
State television broadcast images showing worshipers praying for the president in the holy city of Mashhad.
Image source, Getty Images
Who is Ibrahim Raisi?
The 63-year-old Iranian president was considered a hard-line cleric with very conservative political positions.
Raisi became a prosecutor in Tehran when he was just 25 years old, and continued to climb the judicial career ladder before being appointed Iran’s prosecutor general in 2014.
He surprised by running for president of the country for the first time in 2017, when he came in second place. In 2019, Ayatollah Khamenei appointed him to a powerful position as head of the judiciary.
In June 2021, he was elected president, the second highest authority in the country after the Supreme Leader. The Iranian president maintains a high public status, but his powers are limited under the constitution, which subordinates executive authority to the Supreme Leader.
Iran is an Islamic theocracy in which the Supreme Leader exercises political and ideological control in a regime dominated by clerics like Raisi, who was viewed by many as a successor to Khamenei, with whom he is ideologically allied.
In fact, many Iranians did not take the president seriously, so much so that in the 2022 protests there were no slogans against him, only against Khamenei.
The head of Iranian diplomacy was also on board the helicopter. Hussein Amir AbdullahianHe has been a champion of ongoing talks with allies and rivals since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza in October.
Since Raisi assumed the presidency, Abdullahian has been a negotiating envoy to avoid isolating Iran, which is subject to international sanctions.
What does this mean for Iran?
Image source, Getty Images
Analysis by Giar Gul from the BBC Persian Service
Many people around the world closely followed the helicopter crash in Iran, wondering whether there would be major changes in the country if Raisi died.
The short answer is that not much will change.
Ayatollah Ali KhameneiThe Supreme Leader of Iran expressed his hope that Raisi would return to his country safely, which did not happen, and asked the Iranian people to pray for the president and not to worry because no matter what happens, the country will continue to work.
In the eyes of Iranians, he is the Supreme Leader Islamic Revolutionary Guard Those who make the big political decisions.
Raisi was one of the most conservative presidents Iran has ever known, was very close to Khamenei, and was one of the serious candidates to succeed him.
However, instability can affect the economy. After the news broke on Sunday, the Iranian currency fell against the dollar.
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