Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash. Mohammed Mochber will take over his position until the new elections. Putin calls Raisi’s death an “irreplaceable loss.” All developments in the ticker.
10:55 a.m.: A violent power struggle is likely to break out with Raisi’s death, wrote Iran expert Arash Azizi in an analysis for the US magazine “The Atlantic”. Raisi’s passivity has encouraged challengers among the hardliners. They would see his weak presidency as an opportunity. “Raisi’s death would change the balance of power between factions within the Islamic Republic,” it said before Iranian state media confirmed Raisi’s death.
Hamidreza Azizi, visiting researcher at the Berlin Foundation for Science and Politics, does not see any serious changes in Iran’s political system, since the important decisions are made by Khamenei and the powerful Revolutionary Guards anyway. Overall, the impact of Raisi’s death is “neither fundamental nor a decisive blow to the system,” Azizi wrote on
10.43 a.m.: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has officially declared Vice President Mohammed Mochber as interim head of state following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi.
This step was already expected. Mokhber now has 50 days to organize new elections in coordination with the judiciary and the legislature, said Khamenei.
A separate statement published by Iran’s state news agency IRNA said the cabinet had decided that Ali Bagheri Kani would be promoted from political deputy at the foreign ministry to acting foreign minister.
10:34 a.m.: Following the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, EU Council President Charles Michel expressed his condolences on behalf of the EU. “The EU expresses its sincere condolences on the death of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian, as well as other members of their delegation and crew, in a helicopter accident,” Michel wrote on his official account on X on Monday. “Our thoughts are with the families.”
The EU only expanded its previous sanctions against Iran last week. The background is in particular the major Iranian attack on Israel with drones and missiles in mid-April, which followed a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus. The EU has also imposed sanctions on the country for serious human rights violations.
10:22 a.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in Iran, as an “outstanding” politician and a “true friend of Russia.” Raisi’s death was an “irreplaceable loss,” Putin said on Monday in a letter to Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Khamenei published on the Kremlin website. Raisi made “an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good neighborly relations” between the two countries, it said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov also described Raisi and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who also died in the crash, as “reliable friends” of Russia. They were “patriots” who “resolutely defended” the interests of their state.
Iran is increasingly politically isolated over its controversial nuclear program and its support for militant groups in the Middle East. That is why the government has strengthened relations with Russia, among others, in recent years.
10:20 a.m.: Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered five days of national mourning following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi. This emerged from a statement on Monday.
9:30 a.m.: Israel has not yet made an official statement after the fatal helicopter crash in Iran – however, Israeli media reported on Monday, citing unnamed government officials, that Israel had nothing to do with the incident in the country of its arch-enemy.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian were killed on Sunday when their helicopter crashed in Iran.
Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot reported Monday that Israel expects no real impact on the Jewish state from the deaths of Raisi and Amirabdollahian. There is no expectation of a change in the Islamic Republic’s policy towards Israel.
The only question now is who will replace the Iranian president. “Senior government officials in Jerusalem, apart from changes within Iran, do not expect there to be any impact on Israel because the person making decisions about Iran’s nuclear program and anti-Israel terror campaign is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.” , wrote the paper. “In this area, Raisi’s death will make no difference, neither for better nor for worse.”
The enemy countries Israel and Iran came close to war last month. Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, marking the first direct attack on the country. Tehran said it was retaliating for the deaths of two generals in an attack allegedly carried out by Israel on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus. However, after a limited counterattack by Israel in Iran, there was initially no further escalation.
Israel sees Iran’s controversial nuclear program and massive missile and drone arsenal as the greatest threat to its existence. The leadership of the Islamic Republic denies the Jewish state the right to exist.
8:10 a.m.: The bodies of the victims of the helicopter crash will be brought to the city of Tabriz, according to the head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Iranian news agency Tasnim reports. The search and rescue work has been completed. The late President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crashed on its way from the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan to the city of Tabriz.
7:45 a.m.: The Iranian government has said it will continue to operate without “the slightest disruption” following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi. “The hard-working and tireless President of the Iranian people (…) sacrificed his life for the nation,” the government said on Monday. “We assure the loyal nation that with God’s help and the support of the people, there will not be the slightest disruption in the administration of the country.”
Raisi served in the country’s central judicial authority for over three decades. In 2019 he was appointed head of justice. In his previous role as public prosecutor, he is said to have been responsible for numerous arrests and executions of political dissidents in 1988, which is why his opponents gave him the nickname “Butcher of Tehran”.
7:36 a.m.: In addition to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian, the names of other deceased inmates have now also been announced. According to the state news agency IRNA, also present were Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, imam for Friday prayers in the city of Tabriz, General Malek Rahmati, governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and the commander of the presidential protection units, Sardar Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, as well as one Row of bodyguards and helicopter crew on board. His name is not yet known.
7:00 a.m.: Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian in a helicopter crash, Iran’s cabinet has again met for an emergency meeting. Iranian media reported this unanimously on Monday morning. First Vice President Mohammed Mochber had already chaired a meeting late in the evening. According to protocol, he would take over the government in the event of Raisi’s death. New elections must be held within 50 days.
On Monday morning, state media confirmed the deaths of all nine occupants of the presidential helicopter. Raisi was returning from a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev along with Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian on Sunday afternoon when their plane disappeared from radar in thick fog. Rescue workers searched for the helicopter for hours before the wreckage was discovered early this morning.
6:08 a.m.: Several Iranian media outlets, as well as state television, reported on Monday morning that Iran’s President Ebrahim Raissi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed when their helicopter crashed in the northwest of the country. Raisi had an accident “while serving the Iranian people and fulfilling his duty and died a martyr’s death,” reported the Mehr news agency. An official government statement is expected to follow.
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