Iran President News LIVE: Ebrahim Raisi Dies In Helicopter Crash; PM Modi, Jaishankar 'Deeply Shocked By The Tragic Demise'

Iran’s cabinet has appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister, following the death of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, according to Reuters news agency.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber to assume interim duties after the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash a day earlier.

“In accordance with Article 131 of the constitution, Mokhber is in charge of leading the executive branch,” said Khamenei in a statement, adding that Mokhber will be required to work with the heads of legislative and judicial to prepare for presidential elections “within a maximum period of 50 days”.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced on Monday five days of mourning for President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash.

“I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran,” said Khamenei in an official statement a day after the death of Raisi and other officials in the crash in East Azerbaijan province.

Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday extended his condolences for the deaths of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash.

“Egypt mourns, with great sadness and grief” the Iranian president and Tehran’s top diplomat, “who passed away on Sunday following a painful accident,” the presidency said in a statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as an “outstanding politician” and said his death in a helicopter crash was an “irreplaceable loss.”

“Raisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was dedicated to serving his homeland,” Putin said. “As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good-neighbourly relations between our countries.”

China’s President Xi Jinping said Monday that the “tragic death” of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash was “a great loss to the Iranian people”, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry.

“President Xi Jinping pointed out… His tragic death is a great loss to the Iranian people, and the Chinese people have lost a good friend,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference.

Turkey on Monday said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Turkey “shares the pain of the friendly and brotherly Iranian people,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed solidarity Monday with close ally Tehran, which has backed him during years of war, after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials died in a helicopter crash.

Assad “affirmed Syria’s solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran and with the families of the late deceased and his comrades,” the Syrian presidency said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister, who died in a helicopter crash, had been “true friends” of Moscow.

“In Russia, President Raisi and Foreign Minister (Hossein) Amir-Abdollahian, were seen as true and reliable friends of our country,” Lavrov said, describing them as “patriots… who firmly defended the interests of their State and gave their lives in selfless service to the Motherland.”

The European Union on Monday expressed its “sincere condolences” over the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials in a helicopter crash.

“Our thoughts go to the families,” EU council president Charles Michel said in a statement.

Hamas on Monday expressed its condolences for Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash, mourning in a statement an “honourable supporter” of the Tehran-backed Palestinian militant group.

Hamas said it appreciated Raisi’s “support for the Palestinian resistance, and tireless efforts in solidarity” with Palestinians since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza following the group’s October 7 attack.

The Iranian Red Crescent said Monday that the bodies of president Ebrahim Raisi and others who died in a helicopter crash had been recovered, and search operations had ended.

“We are in the process of transferring the bodies of the martyrs to Tabriz” in Iran’s northwest, Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand told state TV, adding that “the search operations have come to an end.”

The names of some of those killed in the helicopter crash besides Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have now been released.

The IRNA state news agency says that also on board were Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, the imam for Friday prayers in the city of Tabriz, and General Malek Rahmati, the governor of the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan.

The commander of the president’s protection unit, Sardar Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, was also killed.

Mohammad Mokhber, Iran’s First Vice President is expected to become interim president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

A Bell 212 helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister crashed on Sunday, according to Iranian state media, as it flew through mountains in heavy fog. All are feared dead, an Iranian official said on Monday as search teams located the wreckage.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was seen aboard a helicopter shortly before it crashed in a remote mountainous area on Sunday. Haunting photos released by Iranian state media show Raisi sitting calmly inside the helicopter, along with other officials.

Iranian media declared President Ebrahim Raisi dead on Monday after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous northwestern region, but there has not yet been any official confirmation.

“The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, had an accident while serving and performing his duty for the people of Iran and was martyred,” Iran’s Mehr agency said as other media outlets also reported the news.

The cause of the helicopter crash is not yet known – but Iran has a poor air transport safety record, according to BBC. This is at least partly the result of decades of US sanctions, which have severely weakened its aerial fleet.

Raisi was on board a Bell 212 helicopter, state news agencies said. The model was made in the US and could not have been sold to Iran since the 1979 revolution.

“No survivors” have been found at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian agencies report said on Monday.

Hopes are fading that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister have survived a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather, an Iranian official said on Monday after search teams located the wreckage. “We can see the wreckage and the situation does not look good,” the head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV.

Iran’s state television said Monday there was “no sign” of life among passengers of the helicopter which was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials. “Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet,” state TV reported.

Rescuers will reach the helicopter location in “a few minutes”, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society Pirhossein Kolivand has told state media. He said that they were approximately 2 km from where the hard landing is thought to have taken place.

The chief of Iran’s Red Crescent said Monday that the missing helicopter which was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi had been found but the situation was “not good”.

“The helicopter has been found. Now, we are moving toward the helicopter,” said Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand, adding “the situation is not good.”

China said on Monday it was “deeply concerned” after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter went missing in what Tehran’s state media described as an accident.

“The Chinese side is deeply concerned about the hard landing of the helicopter in which President Raisi was travelling, and we wish President Raisi and the crew on board safe and sound,” state broadcaster CCTV quoted Beijing’s foreign ministry as saying, adding that China would “provide all necessary support and assistance to the Iranian side in its rescue efforts”.

Some reaction now from the US, where a handful of lawmakers have addressed the helicopter crash in Iran.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, said his discussions with US intelligence officials suggest “at this point there is no evidence of foul play” but he would “keep the monitoring the situation as it unfolds”.

Iran’s Ambassador, Kazem Jalali revealed the news and told IRNA about the details of his meeting with the President of the Russian Federation.

“Mr. Putin, despite Sunday being a holiday in Russia, held a meeting at 10:00 PM with the presence of senior officials of the country’s defense and security apparatus and upon the invitation, I attended this meeting as the ambassador of the Islamic Republic”, Jalali said was quoted as saying by IRNA.

The spokesperson for Antonio Guterres’ office Stéphane Dujarric said on Sunday that the UN chief was following reports of the incident with concern.

“The Secretary-General is following reports of an incident with Iranian President Raisi’s aircraft with concern. He hopes for the safety of the President and his entourage,” said Dujarric.

A few hours after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter disappeared in the country’s mountainous northwest, one of Turkey’s Bayraktar Akinci drones has found a heat source believed to be the wreckage of the helicopter transporting the leader.