The Iranian regime confirmed this Monday morning, May 20, the death of President Ebrahim Raïssi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian following a helicopter accident that occurred on Sunday, in the northwest of the country, near from the border with Azerbaijan.
The Iranian army was fully mobilized to try to find the helicopter. Several countries, including Turkey, participated in the rescue missions.
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Several countries reacted yesterday to the news of the crash, notably India and Pakistan.
Upon news of his death, Iran’s main allies expressed their condolences: Sergei Lavrov said Raissi and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian “were sincere and reliable friends” of Russia. The Belarusian government lamented on X the loss of “true friends”, and Nicolas Maduro said he was deeply saddened by the news; for him, Raïssi was “an excellent human being, a defender of the sovereignty of his people and an unconditional friend” of Venezuela.
This morning, Iran’s Supreme Leader announced five days of national mourning for the victims of the accident.
Ebrahim Raïssi, 63, has been president of the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2021. He previously served as head of the judiciary between 2019 and 2021, and president of the Astan-e Quds Razavi Religious Foundation, which is responsible for managing the 8th of the Twelve Imams of Twelver Shiism in the city of Mashhad, in the northeast of Iran. This Foundation is, due to the importance of the funds it manages, a major player in the religious, political and economic life of Iran.
Holding an ultra-conservative line, Ebrahim Raïssi was very unpopular in Iran, in particular because of his direct responsibility in the mass executions of political opponents at the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988. But he was perceived as a potential candidate to replace the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Revolution in the event of the death of Ali Khamenei. Vice President Mohammad Mokhbar will serve as interim president. Ali Bagheri Kani, in charge of Iranian nuclear negotiations and former deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was named acting foreign minister.
