By Abiola Olawale
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead in a helicopter crash.
The chopper, which also had Hossein Amirabdollahian, foreign minister; Malek Rahmati, governor of East Azarbaijan province; and Hojjatoleslam Al Hashem, Tabriz Friday prayer leader onboard, suffered a crash on Sunday afternoon in the Varzaqan region of Iran.
Iran’s news agency on Monday confirmed the deaths, reporting that “all passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred”.
According to reports, the helicopter carrying Raisi and Amirabdollahian was completely burned in the crash on Sunday.
The 63-year-old leader who was representing conservative and hardline factions in Iranian politics, has been president for three years and appeared on track to run for re-election next year.
Raisi was born in Mashhad in northeastern Iran, a religious hub for Shia Muslims. He underwent religious education and was trained at the seminary in Qom, studying under prominent scholars, including Khamenei
As the country mourns, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says there will be no disruptions to how Iran is run.
Iran’s vice president is expected to assume the powers of the presidency and new elections will be held within 50 days.
