Iranian President Raisi confirmed dead in helicopter crash

After Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter crashed in the mountains near the Azerbaijan border, Iran asked Washington for help, according to the US State Department. 

The US said it would do what it could, but it turned out there was nothing it could do logistically to help, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

It is not clear where Iran's request for assistance was made. The United States and Iran do not have formal diplomatic relations.

Meanwhile, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had "a lot of blood on his hands," and that the United States will continue to hold Iran accountable for what he called destabilizing activity in the region.

Raisi was responsible for "atrocious" rights abuses in Iran and had supported regional proxies including Hamas, Kirby added.

The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash has raised questions about who will succeed him and about possible changes in the political landscape of Iran.

Sara Bazoobandi, a research fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies, told DW that Raisi was, more than anything else, a puppet of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 

"That's the best way to describe him. He was one of those figures that was willing to unconditionally follow the strategies dictated from above," she said.

According to Bazoobandi, in recent years Iran has seen a very strong tendency toward the personalization of political power in the country and a major takeover by the office of the Supreme Leader in all aspects of policy making, from education to foreign policy. 

The president's death is only going to open the door for more takeover by the office of Supreme Leader, Bazoobandi said, adding that the upcoming presidential election will be very easy to manipulate because there are only 50 days left.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not have information into the cause of the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

"I can't speculate on what may have been the cause," Austin told reporters on Monday.

He added Raisi's death would not necessarily have any broader impact on regional security.

The State Department, meanwhile, offered "official condolences,"  for the death of Raisi and other officials.

"As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms," department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The United Nations Security Council held a minute of silence in memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage.

Members of the council, currently headed by Mozambique, stood up and remained silent "in remembrance of the loss of life in a crash of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi," at the start of Monday's session. 

Over the years, the Security Council has adopted several resolutions as part of international efforts to address Iran's nuclear program.

Afghanistan's Taliban government said they were deeply saddened by the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. 

"We share our grief with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the people of that country and offer our condolences to all the families of the victims, the nation and the government of Iran," the Taliban prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, said in a statement.

Iran is one of the few nations that maintained a diplomatic presence in Kabul after the Taliban regained power in 2021.

No country has recognized Kabul's new rulers yet, but the Taliban authorities have taken over the Afghan mission in Tehran.

Funeral rites for Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi and the other victims of the helicopter crash would be held on Tuesday in Tabriz, state media reported.

"The funeral ceremonies for the president and his companions will take place Tuesday at 9:30 am local time (0600 GMT) in Tabriz," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said. 

Raisi's body would later be taken to the capital Tehran.

The country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced five days of public mourning earlier.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has announced that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would take over as interim president, following the confirmed death of Raisi.

"I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran," Khamenei, who holds ultimate power in Iran, said in a statement. The 68 year-old-Mokhber, like the late Raisi, is seen as close to Khamenei.

Mokhber's public profile is rather low-key. However, the interim president has held prominent positions within the country's power structure, especially within its charitable foundations.

Iran's constitution stipulates that elections to choose a new president should be held within some 50 days.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was also appointed as acting foreign minister on Monday, a government spokesman was cited by the French AFP news agency as saying. He replaces Hossein Amirabdollahian, who died alongside Raisi in the helicopter crash.

Chinese President Xi Jinping extends his "sincere condolences" to the people of Iran after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and several others died in a helicopter crash, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing.

"(Raisi's) tragic death is a great loss to the Iranian people, and the Chinese people have lost a good friend," Xi was quoted as saying.

Xi said: "President Raisi has made important contributions to maintaining Iran's security and stability, promoting national development and prosperity, and also made active efforts to consolidate and develop the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership."

He said that China will offer "all necessary support and assistance" and "continue to support the Iranian government and people in safeguarding their independence, stability and development."

China is Iran's largest trading partner and a major buyer of Iranian oil.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning in the wake of news that President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials had died in a helicopter crash.

Khamenei declared Vice President Mohammed Mokhber acting president.

"In accordance with Article 131 of the constitution, Mokhber is in charge of leading the executive branch," Khamenei said in a statement.

He said that Mokhber must work with the legislative and judicial branches of government to hold a snap presidential election "within a maximum period of 50 days."

A helicopter carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and seven other passengers crashed in Iran's northwestern East Azerbaijan region. The delegation was returning from a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The helicopter disappeared from radar on Sunday afternoon. Iranian state media said on Monday that there were no survivors from the crash.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Iran's late Ebrahim Raisi an "outstanding leader" after the Iranian president was reported to have been killed in a helicopter crash.

"Raisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was dedicated to serving his homeland," Putin said.

"As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good-neighborly relations between our countries, and made great efforts to take them to the level of a strategic partnership."

Putin said he was sending his condolences to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the people of Iran "in the face of such a grave and irreplaceable loss."

Iran has supplied Russia with drone technology for its war in Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed "sincere condolences" to Iran after it was reported that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had died in a helicopter crash.

"I pray for God's mercy for my dear colleague and brother," Erdogan said on X, formerlz Twitter.

He expressed his "sincere condolences to the friendly and fraternal people and government in particular to the religious head of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei."

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey "shares the pain of the friendly and brotherly Iranian people."

Turkey's Anadolu state news agency said that a Turkish-made Akinci drone helped localize the debris of the helicopter in Iran's Eastern Azerbaijan region.

Lebanon announced three days of national mourning after it was confirmed that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials died in a Sunday helicopter crash.

Flags at official institutions are to be flown at half-mast during the mourning period.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, which runs predominantly Shiite Muslim areas of Lebanon's south and east, also offered its condolences.

The group's political wing is part of Lebanon's coalition caretaker government. Its military wing is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and both wings are designated as a terror group by Israel, the Arab League, the US, the UK and others. 

Hezbollah has traded fire with Israel since the start of its war with the Hamas militant Islamist group.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was "deeply saddened" by the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials in a helicopter crash.

"I am deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein [Amirabdollahian] and several other officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"We committed ourselves to bolstering Malaysia-Iran relations, working together for the betterment of our peoples and the Muslim world. Our pledge will be fulfilled."

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani extended his condolences to Iran over the death of President Ibrahim Raisi and other officials in a helicopter crash.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, and to the nation of Iran, its government and people," al-Sudani said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"We express our solidarity with the brotherly Iranian people and the officials of the Islamic Republic during this painful tragedy."

Pakistan will observe a day of mourning over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials, Pakistani Prime Minister Sehbaz Sharif said.

"Pakistan will observe a day of mourning and the flag will fly at half mast as a mark of respect for President Raisi and his companions and in solidarity with brotherly Iran," Pakistan's head of government said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

He said that Raisi and Foreign Minister Hosssein Amirabdollahian, who visited Islamabad just weeks before the helicopter crash that took their lives, were "good friends of Pakistan."