Iran mourns president Raisi's death in helicopter crash
The Peninsula
Tehran: Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after search and rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog shrouded moun...
Tehran: Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after search and rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning and assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, to assume interim duties ahead of elections within 50 days.
Earlier Monday, state TV announced that "the servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, has achieved the highest level of martyrdom" and broadcast pictures from Raisi's life as a voice recited the Koran.
Raisi, 63, had been in office since 2021.
Condolences flooded in from Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and from Syria, all members of the Axis of Resistance against Israel and its allies.