Iran helicopter crash LIVE: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died along with country’s foreign minister after plane plummeted over mountain range – latest updates

World leaders have expressed their condolences to Iran following the death of the country’s president, Ebrahim Raisi.

Here are statements from the leaders of India, Pakistan and Venezuela.

Footage has emerged showing President Raisi on board the helicopter that crashed and killed him.

Raisi was seen looking out the window of the plane, which was traveling in East Azerbaijan province near Jolfa, about 375 miles northwest of Tehran when it crashed.

Here is a map showing where the helicopter carrying President Raisi crashed, killing him and his officials.

The plane was carrying Raisi from the Azerbaijan border to Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province, when it ran into difficulties and plummeted in a mountainous area on Sunday.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died on Sunday when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed in a mountainous region of northwestern Iran.

The plane encountered difficulties in dense fog while transporting Mr. Raisi and his officials to the city of Tabriz.

Here are some photos of the helicopter crash and the search and rescue efforts.

Under the Iranian constitution, Iran’s vice president takes power if the president dies with the accession of Ayatollah Khamenei, and new presidential elections would be called within 50 days.

Iranian state media has already reported that Mohammad Mokhber, 68, has taken on the role of acting president and has already begun receiving calls from foreign officials and governments.

Mokhber will head a temporary government along with the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.

Qalibaf, who campaigned for the Iranian presidency as early as 2005, is expected to be one of the candidates pushing hard to succeed Raisi.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was a hardline cleric who went from hardline prosecutor to uncompromising president and was one day emerging as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successor as the country’s supreme leader.

Here is a brief summary of his life and political career:

• Raisi was born in 1960 into a religious family in the Shia Muslim holy city of Mashhad, Iran. When he was five years old, he lost his father, but followed in his footsteps and became a clergyman.
• As a young student at a religious seminary in the holy city of Qom, Raisi participated in protests against the Western-backed Shah in the 1979 revolution. His contacts with religious leaders in Qom later made him a trusted figure in power. judicial.
• Raisi was elected president in a closely controlled vote in 2021, in which he took a tough stance in nuclear negotiations.
• His victory put all branches of power in Iran under the control of hardliners loyal to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, strengthening his chances of succeeding him.
• Raisi has overseen the crackdown on protests in his country and his hardline stance is evident a year into his presidency when he ordered stricter enforcement of Iran’s ‘chastity and hijab law’ that restricts the dress and behavior of women.

If you’re just waking up, here’s everything you need to know this morning:

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was confirmed dead after rescuers found a helicopter carrying him and other officials crashed in Iran’s mountainous northwestern corner on Sunday.
• Raisi, 63, was among nine people declared dead along with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
• Rescuers battled through snowstorms and difficult terrain overnight to reach the wreckage in the early hours of Monday after a Russian-backed search effort was hampered due to bad weather.
• The Iranian government held an “urgent meeting” on Monday, with Raisi’s chair empty and covered with a black sash; state broadcasters are broadcasting Islamic prayers between news broadcasts.
• Mohammad Mokhber, 68, Iran’s first vice president, will take over as acting president and has already received calls from foreign leaders offering their condolences, state media reported.

We will bring you more developments as we have them.

Raisi was one of nine people killed when a helicopter crashed in the mountainous area of ​​northwestern Iran on Sunday.

The 63-year-old was traveling to the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz after attending an inauguration ceremony for a new dam on the country’s border with Azerbaijan.

We will provide live updates today following confirmation that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (pictured) has died in a helicopter crash.

Raisi was on board a plane with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian when it crashed into a mountain range on Sunday.

We will bring you the latest news, reactions and analysis of this breaking story.