Iran’s president, foreign minister and others found dead at helicopter crash site

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead on Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has since announced five days of mourning and offered his condolences “to the dear people of Iran”.

Mr Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of north-western Iran, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, a senior cleric from Tabriz, a Revolutionary Guard official, and three crew members.

The crash on Sunday killed all eight people aboard a Bell helicopter, which Iran purchased in the early 2000s, according to the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed to assume interim duties after the death of the president.

Mr Mokhber will work with the heads of Iran’s legislature and judiciary to prepare for a presidential election within 50 days – a period of time set out in Iran’s constitution for replacing a president who dies in office.

Iran’s cabinet has also appointed deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister.