BREAKING: Iranian President Raisi is confirmed dead after helicopter crash, state agencies say

On May 20, 2024

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev during the inauguration ceremony of dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Raisi, a hard-line protégé of the country's supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels and launched a major drone-and-missile attack on Israel, has died in a helicopter crash, according to state media on Monday, May 20. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iranian media has confirmed the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, aged 63, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian following a helicopter crash in the country’s mountainous province of East Azerbaijan.

Iranian state media Press TV and semi-official Tasnim and Mehr news agencies reported all those on board were killed.

Reuters also reported the president’s death, citing a senior official.

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“President Raisi, the foreign minister and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash,” the official told Reuters, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, said earlier Monday there were no signs of life of those traveling on board the helicopter, Iranian state news IRIB reported.

The helicopter carrying nine people ran into trouble in heavy fog while returning from a trip to the Iran-Azerbaijan border, Iranian officials said Sunday.

The crash prompted an hours-long search-and-rescue operation with assistance from the European Union and Turkey, among others, but emergency crews were hampered by the fog and plummeting temperatures.

[CNN]