Iran's President Raisi killed in helicopter crash
What we're covering
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash at age 63, the government has confirmed. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also among those killed, along with seven others.
His death comes at a fraught moment in the Middle East, with war raging in Gaza. The helicopter crashed weeks after Iran launched a drone-and-missile attack on Israel in response to a deadly strike on its diplomatic compound in Damascus.
Hardliner Raisi became president in a historically uncompetitive election in 2021. Previously the chief justice, he has overseen a period of intensified repression of dissent in a nation convulsed by youth-led protests against clerical rule.
Raisi was the second-most powerful person in the Islamic Republic's political structure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Iranian Constitution mandates that, in the case of the death of the president, the first vice president shall assume with the approval of the Supreme Leader.
Iran expresses condolences over deaths and says crash will not disrupt country's affairs
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi holds a news conference in New York on September 20
The Iranian government expressed its condolences for the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and seven others in a helicopter crash in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province on Sunday.
In a statement Monday, the president's cabinet praised Raisi as a "hard-working and tireless" president who served the people of Iran to help advance and progress the country.
"[He] stood by his promise and sacrificed his life for the nation," the statement said.
The cabinet also reaffirmed that there "will not be the slightest disturbance" in the administration of Iran in the wake of the deadly crash.
Iran will try to ensure there “will be no chaos” following Raisi’s death, analyst says
Iran will try to ensure everything is under control and that there “will be no chaos” following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, according to Tehran-based journalist and researcher Abas Aslani.
“I think most prominently they have been trying to make sure that the situation is in control and they will survive this in order to prepare for a transition for early election,” he said.
“The cabinet had an emergency meeting this morning. They want to somehow assure people the situation will be in control and there will be no chaos.”
Aslani added that they will want to “make sure the transition happens smoothly.”
The Iranian constitution mandates that the vice president — currently Mohammad Mokhbar — will assume the position of interim president and that new presidential elections will be held within 50 days.
Aslani said: “This is a significant loss for the country, however, I think the most important thing that now they are focusing on is to survive this situation.”
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi killed in helicopter crash. Here's what we know
A screen grab from an IRIB via Tasnim News video shows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on a helicopter in Iran on May 19.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed along with the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash on Sunday in the country’s remote northwest, state news media has confirmed.
The loss of Raisi — a conservative hardliner and protege of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — is expected to sow further uncertainty in a country already buckling under significant economic and political strain, with tensions with nearby Israel at a dangerous high.
Here's the latest:
Death toll: Nine died in the helicopter crash on Sunday and their bodies will be transported to the city of Tabriz. Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian, were returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, state media reported. Among those onboard were three crew members, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, an imam, Raisi’s head of security, and a bodyguard, according to IRGC-run media outlet Sepah.
Reactions in Iran: Iranian state broadcasters are airing Islamic prayers in between their news broadcasts following the announcement of the deadly crash. Iran's government convened an "urgent meeting" on Monday, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA, which showed a photo of the chair that Raisi usually sits in as vacant and draped with a black sash in memory of the president.
Analysis: His death comes at a fraught moment in the Middle East, with war raging in Gaza. Under Raisi, Iran’s hardline leadership has faced significant challenges in recent years, convulsed by youth-led demonstrations against clerical rule and grim economic conditions.
What may happen next: Raisi was the second most powerful individual in the Islamic Republic's political structure after the supreme leader. The Iranian constitution mandates that the Vice President — currently Mohammad Mokhbar — will assume the position of interim president and that new presidential elections will be held within 50 days.
Bodies of those killed in Iran helicopter crash being transported to Tabriz
The bodies of those killed in the helicopter crash that killed Iran's president will be transported to the city of Tabriz, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent said, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News.
President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were among those killed.
Search and rescue efforts have ended, Pir-Hossein Kolivand said.
The helicopter crashed while traveling from Iran's East Azerbaijan province to the city of Tabriz,
Low hanging clouds and fog across northwestern Iran at time of helicopter crash
screen grab from video released by Mehr News Agency via Telegram shows a rescue team arriving at the site of a helicopter crash in Iran on May 19
There were low-hanging clouds and cooler-than-average temperatures across the northwestern region of Iran at the time when the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and eight others crashed on Sunday.
While it is difficult to get reliable weather data in the higher parts of the country, Tabriz, the closest major city to the crash and the intended destination of the helicopter, showed below-average temperatures at a low of 9.2 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit) around the time of the crash.
The deadly crash occurred as Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, IRNA reported.
Among those onboard were three crew members, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, an imam, Raisi’s head of security chief, and a bodyguard, according to IRGC-run media outlet Sepah.
Iranian state broadcasters airing Islamic prayers following death of President Raisi
Iranian state broadcasters are airing Islamic prayers in between their news broadcasts following the announcement that President Ebrahim Raisi and eight others died after the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in Iran's East Azerbaijan province.
Iran's government convened an "urgent meeting" on Monday, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.
A photo shared by IRNA showed that the chair that Raisi usually sits in was vacant and draped with a black sash in memory of the president.
Iran's stock market was also closed on Monday, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News, which cited a member of the stock exchange's board of directors.
This post has been updated with the stock market's closure.
Verses from Quran shared on President Raisi's X account
Verses from the Quran were shared in a post on the X account of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash along with the country's foreign minister.
"Peace be upon Abraham. Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, he was of Our believing servants," the post on the president's account said, citing Quranic verses.
Raisi was the second-most powerful person in the Islamic Republic's political structure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Analysis: Raisi's death comes at a fraught time for the Middle East — and Iran itself
Emergency and security personnel inspect the site of strikes which hit a building next to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1. Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images
The death of Iran’s president and foreign minister in a helicopter crash on a remote mountainside comes at an especially fraught moment in the Middle East – and for Iran domestically.
Israel’s war against Hamas and the subsequent humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in Gaza over the last seven months has inflamed global opinion and sent tensions soaring across the Middle East.
It has also brought a decades-long shadow war between Iran and Israel out into the open.
Last month, Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel — its first direct attack on the country — in response to a deadly apparent Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus that killed a top commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
Israel struck back a week later, according to US officials, hitting targets outside the Iranian city of Isfahan with a much smaller, calibrated response.
Since then the tit-for-tat direct strikes between the two have stopped. But the proxy war continues with Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah continuing to fight Israel’s forces.
Meanwhile, Iran’s hardline leadership has weathered an explosion of recent popular dissent on the streets at home where years of US-led sanctions have hit hard.
The country was convulsed by youth-led demonstrations against clerical rule and worsening economic conditions following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s notorious morality police.
Iranian authorities have since launched a widening crackdown on dissent in response to the protests.
That crackdown has led to human rights violations, some of which amount to “crimes against humanity,” according to a United Nations report released in March.
And while the protests have largely stopped, opposition to clerical leadership remains deeply entrenched among many Iranians, especially the young, who yearn for reform, jobs and a move away from stifling religious rule.
A former hardline judiciary chief with his own brutal human rights record, Raisi was elected president in 2021 in a vote heavily engineered by the Islamic Republic’s political elite so that he would run virtually uncontested.
Raisi defeated a more moderate candidate and his victory was seen to signal the start of a new harder-line era in Iran. Yet turnout for that election was just 41 percent, a record low.
The powers of Iran's president are ultimately dwarfed by those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the Islamic Republic.
With Raisi dead, it is likely new elections will have to be held.
The Iranian constitution mandates that the Vice President — currently Mohammad Mokhbar — will assume the position of interim president and that new presidential elections will be held within 50 days.
That means Iran's clerical establishment, headed by Khamenei, must now find a new leader they can throw their support behind against a backdrop of intense regional insecurity and domestic discontent.
Iran's government convenes urgent meeting, Iranian state media reports
Iran's government convened an "urgent meeting" on Monday following the announcement that President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister were among those who died in a helicopter crash, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.
The chair that Raisi usually sits in was vacant, and was draped with a black sash in memory of the president, according to a photo shared by state news.
