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| An investigation into the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash has been ordered |
Tehran: Iran's military chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, has ordered an investigation into the helicopter crash that killed President Ibrahim Raisi and his colleagues on Monday.
Baqeri ordered "a high-level committee to launch an investigation into the cause of the president's helicopter crash" that occurred on Sunday, ISNA news agency reported.
The hardliner Raisi, long seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in a mountainous region near the border with Azerbaijan
The wreckage of the helicopter that crashed Sunday, carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdullahyan and six other passengers and crew, was found Monday morning after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.
Supreme Leader Khamenei, who has the final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear program, said Vice President Mohammad Mokhbar would take over as interim president, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Khamenei said in a statement that I declare five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the beloved people of Iran. Mukhtar is seen as close to Khamenei as Raisi.
Under Iran's constitution, new presidential elections must be held within 50 days.
Footage from Iran's state television showed debris strewn across a misty hillside, while separate images by IRNA showed Red Crescent workers carrying a shrouded body on a stretcher. All aboard the helicopter were killed, a senior Iranian official told Reuters earlier.
Killed along with Raisi was FM Amirabdullahyan, known for his strong anti-Israel sentiments and skepticism about the West, and seven others, including the governor of East Azerbaijan province and a senior imam in the city of Tabriz.
IRNA said that Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani was appointed acting Foreign Minister after the death of Amir Abdullahiyan.
According to the Tasnim news agency, a total of nine people were on board the plane. Raisi's convoy included three helicopters and the other two "reached their destination safely," the news agency said.
An Israeli official told Reuters he was not involved in the accident. "It wasn't us," said the official, who requested anonymity.
Iranian authorities first raised the alarm on Sunday afternoon when Raisi's helicopter lost contact while flying over a fog-shrouded mountain area in the Julfa region of East Azerbaijan province.
The helicopter crashed in the Varzqan region north of Tabriz, IRNA reported, as Raisi returned from an official visit to the border with Azerbaijan.
Raisi went to inaugurate the Kays-Qalasi Dam, a joint project on the border with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who said he had bid Raisi a "friendly farewell" earlier in the day, also offered to help with the rescue.
State media reported that images from the site showed the US-made Bell 212 helicopter crashing into the mountaintop, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash. Earlier, an Iranian official told Reuters that the helicopter was completely burnt in the crash.
Rescue teams battled blizzards and difficult terrain overnight to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province on Monday morning.
"After searching the helicopter, there was still no sign of the helicopter's passengers being alive," state TV reported about 15 hours after the plane went missing.
This accident has occurred at a time when differences are growing within Iran regarding political, social and economic crises. Iran's religious rulers have faced international pressure over Tehran's controversial nuclear program and its deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting an Israeli offensive on Gaza that has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, riots involving Iran-aligned groups have erupted across the Middle East.
A long "shadow war" between Iran and Israel began last month with a tit-for-tat exchange of drone and missile fire.
Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered tougher ethics laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and toughened nuclear talks with world powers.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate power with final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear program, sought to reassure Iranians that state affairs would not be disrupted.
A cabinet statement on Monday said the Iranian government would continue to function "unimpeded" after Raisi's death.
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