Iranian President, Foreign Minister Killed in Helicopter Crash
It remains unclear what caused the crash.
Iranian state media reported on Monday that President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, and several other officials died in a helicopter crash in the northwest of country. Iran’s supreme leader has also confirmed the deaths.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power in Iran, said on the social media platform X that he had received “the bitter news of the martyrdom” of Mr. Raisi and his entourage.
“This bitter tragedy took place while he was serving the people,” he said.
Mr. Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the province’s governor, and other officials when the crash happened on Sunday.
A search and rescue operation was immediately launched in the area of the crash site. Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency later reported that all passengers aboard the helicopter had been “martyred.”
The state-run IRNA news agency also posted a similar statement on X, declaring that Mr. Raisi and his entourage died in the crash. It remains unclear what caused the crash.
I'd laugh if it were a suicide pilot yelling allahu akbar