Tragedy struck as the 63-year-old President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, and others were found dead today after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, state media reports.
The crash comes as the Middle East remains unsettled by the Israel-Hamas war, during which Raisi under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel just last month.
Under Raisi, Iran enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels, further escalating tensions with the West as Tehran also supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and armed militia groups across the region.
Meanwhile, Iran has faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over its ailing economy and women’s rights — making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country.
State TV gave no immediate cause for the crash that occurred in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Among the dead was Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60. The helicopter also carried the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, other officials, and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The crash: Follow AP’s live coverage of the helicopter crash in which Iran’s president and foreign minister were found dead.
Ebrahim Raisi: Iran’s hard-line president has long been seen as a protégé to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Hossein Amirabdollahian: The foreign minister represented the hard-line shift after the collapse of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
International reaction: Countries including Russia, Iraq and Qatar have made formal statements of concern about Raisi’s fate.
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