Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash at the age of 63, according to Iranian news outlets. The helicopter, carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and seven other senior officials, crashed in the mountainous northwest region of Iran. The crash follows Iran’s recent drone-and-missile attack on Israel, which was a response to a deadly strike on Iran’s diplomatic compound in Damascus.
Raisi, a hardliner who became president in an uncompetitive election in 2021, was previously the chief justice. He oversaw a period of intensified repression of dissent amid youth-led protests against clerical rule. As the second-most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi’s death has thrown the nation into uncertainty. According to the Iranian Constitution, the first vice president will assume office with the Supreme Leader’s approval in the event of the president’s death.
The helicopter went missing in East Azerbaijan province, and contact was lost, prompting a massive search effort in the fog-shrouded mountains. Supreme Leader Khamenei assured the nation that there would be no disruption in the country’s work and expressed hope for Raisi’s safe return, despite the grim circumstances.
Expressions of concern and offers to help in the search came from various countries, including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia, and Turkey, as well as from the European Union, which activated its rapid response mapping service.
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State television first reported the accident, highlighting the harsh weather and heavy fog that hampered rescue efforts. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi described the helicopter’s hard landing in bad weather and urged the public to rely on state television for information.
Iran’s Red Crescent and more than 60 rescue teams, using search dogs and drones, were dispatched to the mountainous protected forest area of Dizmar near Varzaghan. Raisi’s convoy had included three helicopters, but only the one carrying him and other officials crashed.
Iran’s cabinet held an emergency meeting led by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber in response to the incident, underscoring the gravity of the situation and the nation’s collective anxiety.
