- The helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz after returning from a dam opening ceremony on the Azerbaijan border
- Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also died in the crash, along with six others who were travelling with them
- The cause of the crash remains unclear, but the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Maj Gen Mohammad Hossein Bagheri has launched an investigation, according to state media
- The funeral rites for Raisi and his entourage will begin tomorrow in Tabriz at 9.30 am local time
- Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has announced five days of mourning
- Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed as acting president, while Ali Bagheri Kani, who was deputy foreign minister, has been named foreign minister
- The election date has been set for 28 June
- Iranian government supporters began pouring into the squares of Tehran for a mourning ceremony – at similar events in the past people have been bussed in from schools and government offices. Many Iranians on social media have been celebrating Raisi’s death
- Over in the West, the US offered its condolences over the death of Raisi, but called him a “brutal participant in the oppression of the Iranian people” who had “blood on his hands”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences, describing Raisi as a “true friend of Russia”, while China described his death as a “great loss to the Iran
News Source: BBC News
