Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Confirmed Dead Overnight After Helicopter Crash

AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File

Iranian state media confirmed that President Ebrahim Raisi was killed following a helicopter crash in Iran on Sunday.

Also killed was Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. He and Raisi were found Monday following a search and rescue operation. Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting president following the confirmation. Ali Bagheri Kani is now acting Foreign Minister.

Conflicting reports followed the crash, which took place in a remote part of northwest Iran as a result of foggy conditions. Those conditions also prevented a rapid search and rescue operation, and an Iranian official told Reuters that “the lives of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian are at risk following the helicopter crash.”

Ayatollah Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, announced five days of public mourning and cultural events were canceled for seven days.

CNN provided information about how Iran’s constitution will handle the election of new leadership:

The Iranian constitution mandates that the three heads of the branches of government, including the vice president, speaker of the parliament, and head of the judiciary, must arrange for an election and elect a new leader within 50 days of assuming the role of acting President. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a message to state news agencies that Mokhber was responsible for organizing elections for a new president within that time.

President Joe Biden has not yet commented on the death of Raisi. He was summoned back to the White House from Delaware following news of the crash.