Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed Sunday in a helicopter crash that appears to have been an accident due to bad weather. The European Union expressed its condolences, as Iran’s allies have reiterated their solidarity with the Islamic Republic.
In a statement, the government said that Raisi’s death would not disturb the administration of the country.
He was travelling back from a visit to the Azerbaijani border when the helicopter crashed in mountainous terrain killing all aboard, Including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Iran's cabinet held an emergency meeting led by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, who under the Iranian constitution will become interim president, with the accord of the Supreme Leader.
Rasi, 63, a hard-line protégé of the country's supreme leader was elected in 2021, succeeding moderate Hassan Rouhani, whose nuclear deal with world powers was undermined by then then-US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from it.
He oversaw the security crackdown on mass protests in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained over allegedly not properly wearing a headscarf.
Condolences have come in from Pakistan, Iraq and Qatar, as well as Russia, India and Venezuela.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed the EU’s “sincere condolences” in a post on X.
Hamas, the Iraninan-backed militant group expressed its "deepest condolences” to Iran and praised Raisi for supporting the Palestinian cause and resistance against Israel.
Israel’s offensive against Gaza, after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing over 1,400 people and taking hundreds hostage, has sent tensions soaring the region, with Tehran launching hundreds of missiles and rockets directly at Israel in April.
"We believe that Palestine is the first issue of the Muslim world, and we are convinced that the people of Iran and Azerbaijan always support the people of Palestine and Gaza and hate the Zionist regime," said Raisi, following his visit Sunday to inaugurate a dam project on the border with Azerbaijan.
Israel has not yet reacted to Raisi’s death, according to RFI’s correspondent in Jerusalem, though sources cited in Israeli media insist that Israel was not implicated in the helicopter crash.
(with newswires)
