Iranian President Rai died in helicopter crash

Iranian President Raisi’s helicopter made a hard landing on Sunday evening due to adverse weather conditions. Hours after the crash, crews arrived at the scene and announced that there were no signs of life at the wreckage. Iranian officials told Reuters that Iranian President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir Abdullahiyan had died. Iranian state television confirmed Raisi’s death. Iranian officials announced that Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahiyan had died. The helicopter Raisi was in crashed on Sunday evening on its way back from Azerbaijan. President Raisi had been attending the opening ceremony of a dam on the Iran-Azerbaijan border by helicopter. Iranian state television had reported that Raisi’s helicopter made a hard landing while returning from the region, and that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahiyan, East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malik Rahmati and Tabriz Friday Prayer Imam Ayatollah Ali Hashim were also on board the helicopter. Search and rescue teams reported that work was progressing with difficulty due to adverse weather conditions, and Iran requested an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Turkey to conduct an aerial search. The Akıncı UAV, which Turkey assigned to conduct search operations regarding the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Reisi and some officials, detected the heat source, thought to be the wreckage of the helicopter, and shared its coordinates with Iranian authorities. Elections expected to be held in 50 days A senior official who spoke to Reuters and asked not to be identified said that all the passengers in the helicopter, along with President Reisi, died. According to information provided by another Iranian official, the helicopter carrying Reisi and Emir Abdullahiyan was completely burned in the crash. No information was given about the cause of the crash. Following Reisi’s death, Vice President Mohammad Muhbir is expected to take over the executive branch according to the Iranian constitution, and presidential elections are expected to be held within 50 days. Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated in a statement following the crash that there would be no disruption in the functioning of the country. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said there was no indication of an assassination, citing intelligence officials. Reisi, a representative of Iran's conservative wing, was seen as the successor to the country's spiritual leader, Khamenei.