Iran chief of staff orders probe into presidential helicopter crash

Tens of thousands have turned out to mourn the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi who was killed with others in a helicopter crash.

Tens of thousands mourned Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi after his death in a helicopter crash, amid political uncertainty ahead of an election for his successor next month.

Raisi and seven members of his entourage including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed when their aircraft came down on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran.

Mourners walking in the funeral procession in Tabriz, the capital of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, of late president Ebrahim Raisi and seven others killed with him in a helicopter crash. Picture: AFP

Waving Iranian flags and portraits of the late president, mourners marched in the northwestern city of Tabriz, where Raisi’s helicopter had been headed when it crashed.

Black-clad mourners beat their chests as they walked behind a lorry carrying the coffins of Raisi and those who died with him.

This handout picture provided by the Iranian president's office shows honour guards carrying the coffin of late president Ebrahim Raisi during a funeral procession. Picture: AFP

“We, the members of the government, who had the honour to serve this beloved president, the hardworking president, pledge to our dear people and leader to follow the path of these martyrs,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in a speech.

Raisi’s body was taken to the Shiite clerical centre of Qom before being moved to Tehran, where huge banners hailing him as “the martyr of service” have appeared around the city.

In Qom, the procession moved toward the city’s main shrine of Massoumeh as mourners waved the Shiite red flag and the yellow flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group.

The official IRNA news agency said the funerals in Iran were attended by “hundreds of thousands” of people.

This handout picture provided by the Iranian president's office shows a mourner holding a portrait of late president Ebrahim Raisi during a funeral procession in Tabriz. Picture: AFP

Over pictures of Raisi and as a voice recited Koranic verses, the broadcaster said “the servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, has achieved the highest level of martyrdom”.

Armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri has ordered an investigation into the crash.

Raisi’s body will be flown from Tehran to his home city of Mashhad in the northeast, where he will be buried after funeral rites at the Imam Reza shrine.

‘IT WASN’T US’: ISRAEL STEPS BACK FROM IRAN CHOPPER CRASH

Israel said it had nothing to do with the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after he was killed in a helicopter crash.

In a speech just hours before his death, Raisi underlined Iran’s support for the Palestinians, a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The crash site of the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi. Picture: AFP

A day after the body of the hardline cleric leader was found inside the charred wreckage of the crashed helicopter after rescue workers battled blizzard conditions, an Israeli government official in Jerusalem told Reuters “it wasn’t us”.

Israel is at war with Iran-backed Hamas in the Middle East and directly targeted its arch foe Iran for the first time following a drone and missile attack a month ago.

Iran’s military chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri has ordered “a high-ranking committee to launch an investigation into the cause of the President’s helicopter crash”, the ISNA news agency reported.

Iran declared five days of mourning over the death of President Raisi, which has set off a period of political uncertainty in the Islamic republic.

Meanwhile exiled Iranians celebrated his death in cities such as Berlin and London, where a dance party broke out in front of the Iranian embassy.

The ultraconservative Raisi, 63, had been in office since 2021, a turbulent time during which Iran was rocked by mass protests, economic crisis deepened by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch enemy Israel.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash. Picture: AFP

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also died in the same crash. Picture: AFP

AYATOLLAH DECLARES FIVE DAYS OF MOURNING

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning and assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, to assume interim duties ahead of elections within 50 days.

Meanwhile, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri has been appointed acting foreign minister.

Raisi was widely expected to succeed Khamenei.

The helicopter was located with no signs of life after a frantic mission that saw rescue workers from 73 teams battle dense fog and extreme cold as they scoured the mountainous terrain.

The breakthrough came when a Turkish drone identified a source of heat suspected to be the wreckage of the aircraft and the “the coordinates of the accident,” and informed Iranian rescue teams.

Rescuers recover bodies at the site of President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter crash in a fog-shrouded mountainous area of northwest Iran. Picture: Iranian Red Crescent / AFP

Search and rescue teams were searching for President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter after it went missing in a mountainous area of northwest Iran. Picture: Iranian Red Crescent / AFP

State media blamed a malfunction and poor weather for the crash, which has thrown Iran into uncertainty amid fears of a power vacuum that senior figures in Tehran could try take advantage of.

Raisi was one of the most conservative presidents in Iran’s history.

The wreckage was detected by a Turkish Akinci unmanned aerial vehicle. Picture: Getty Images

Drone footage shows the crash site. Picture: Getty Images

The Iranian government issued a statement saying it would continue to operate “without the slightest disruption” following the death of President Raisi.

“We assure the loyal nation that the path of service will continue with the tireless spirit of Ayatollah Raisi,” said the cabinet statement, stressing that government’s work will continue “without the slightest disruption”.

This grab taken from video footage released by the IRINN Iranian state television network on May 19, 2024 shows the Islamic republic's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) on board a helicopter in the Jofa region of Iran's western province. Picture: AFP

The country’s vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, is expected to assume the presidency.

The crash comes after months of heightened tensions in the Middle East as Israel’s war in Gaza continues against Hamas, which is backed by Iran.

Iranians pray for President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in central Tehran. Picture: AFP

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi (2nd L) with members of his delegation. Picture: Iranian Presidency / AFP

An Iranian man watches the news on TV in a restaurant in Tehran as state TV reported that a helicopter carrying Iran's president was involved in "an accident" in poor weather. Picture: AFP

WORLD REACTS TO PRESIDENT RAISI’S DEATH

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as an “outstanding politician” and said his death in a helicopter crash was an “irreplaceable loss.” “Raisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was dedicated to serving his homeland,” Mr Putin said.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi (2nd L) with members of his delegation in Aras, ahead of the inauguration ceremony for a dam project on the border between the two countries. Picture: AFP

“As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good-neighbourly relations between our countries.”

Hamas also expressed its condolences for Raisi’s death, issuing a statement mourning an “honourable supporter” of the Tehran-backed Palestinian militant group.

Lebanon’s Tehran-backed Hezbollah group also praised the Iranian leader as a “protector” of anti-Israel groups in the region.

Originally published as Iran chief of staff orders probe into presidential helicopter crash