Iranian media is reporting that President Ebrahim Raisi has died along with nine other people including the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahiyan after a helicopter they were traveling in crashed.
The helicopter was believed to have been traveling in bad weather at the time of the crash, however, it hasn’t been confirmed whether those conditions contributed to the chopper going down in the East Azerbaijan province of the country. Weather, however, did contribute to the 73 rescue teams dispatched to locate the crash site which was initially discovered using drones to detect heat sources on the ground.
The crash occurred during a return trip after President Raisi took part in an inauguration ceremony at a cooperative damn with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev along the border between the two countries. The helicopter was part of a convoy with two other helicopters on its way back to the city of Tabriz. Raisi’s helicopter was the only aircraft in the convoy that went down.
Who’s next in line to lead Iran in the wake of Raisi’s death?
69-year-old First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would assume control of the country after Raisi’s death after the approval of Supreme Leader Khamenei. However, Mokhber’s position within the Iranian government isn’t an elected position and an election must take place within 50 days to name a permanent president.
Nonetheless, experts in the region believe Iran’s government can withstand any shock to its system, even the untimely death of its president, due to the checks and balances already in place. Additionally, Supreme Leader Khamenei, reassured Iranians there would be no disruption to state affairs.