Iran's President Raisi declared dead in helicopter crash

Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was declared dead on Monday after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog shrouded western mountain...

Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was declared dead on Monday after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic.

"The servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom while serving the people," state TV declared, showing pictures of 63-year-old Raisi as a voice recited the Koran.

Raisi, 63, had been in office since 2021, during a time that has seen Iran rocked by mass protests, economic crisis deepened by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch enemy Israel.

Condolences came in from Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and from Syria.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians late Sunday, as the search was still ongoing, to "not worry" about the leadership of the Islamic republic, saying "there will be no disruption in the country's work".