By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@ReutersPhoto.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has died after a helicopter carrying him and other officials crashed in a mountainous and forested area of the country in poor weather, He was 63.
Raisi was travelling with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several others.
A large search and rescue operation to try and locate the aircraft was launched on Sunday – with Russia and Turkey among the countries assisting in the effort.
It was initially reported that the helicopter carrying Raisi and the foreign minister had made a rough landing in foggy conditions.
Ahead of state media confirming the death vigils had taken place in the capital, Tehran, with pictures showing people kneeling in prayer.
Raisi, 63, was a hard-line cleric close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and was seen by some as a potential successor to the 85-year-old.
His election as president in 2021 consolidated the control of conservatives over every part of the Islamic Republic.
In a statement following his death, the Iranian government said it would continue to operate “without disruption”.
His death comes as Israel’s war against Hamas continues into its eighth month, fueling a spiraling humanitarian catastrophe and sending regional tensions soaring.
As global leaders react to the death of Raisi, few places will be watching events as closely – or responding as cautiously – as Israel.
What they are watching for is any hint from Iran that foul play was behind the incident. The slightest whiff of Israeli involvement – suspected or real – would likely plunge the region into a fresh crisis.
So far, there has been none.
Iran’s state media has instead focused on bad weather as the cause of the helicopter crash.
And Israeli officials are privately briefing local news outlets that the country had no hand in the Iranian president’s demise.
It’s only a month since the long shadow war between the two nations burst into the open, after Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards targets in Israel.
Since then, an uneasy status quo has been restored, but both that confrontation and the war between Israel and Iran’s proxies in Gaza and Lebanon have put the region under pressure.
Earlier Reports
The were conflicting reports that emerged with some suggesting the Iranian helicopter’s crashed helicopter has been found.
Reuters news agency quoted state media as saying Raisi’s chopper was discovered by search and rescue teams.
It did not detail where it was found, or if any survivors have been located. But moments later, Iran’s Red Crescent denied the report.
CNN reported contact has been made with a passenger and a crew member of the Iranian president’s helicopter, an official has told state TV.
The unnamed official said contact has been made on several occasions.
“Our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall says this marks a “really significant development”.
“It suggests there could be survivors and perhaps they are pretty close to the crash site, which again would be a moment of hope,” he added.
Reactions
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said he was “profoundly troubled” after hearing reports about a helicopter crash involving Raisi.
Aliyev was with the Iranian president earlier today to open two dams around the Iran-Azerbaijan border.
“Today, after bidding a friendly farewell to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, we were profoundly troubled by the news of a helicopter carrying the top delegation crash-landing in Iran,” he writes on X.
“Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation”.
Turkey sending search and rescue equipment to Iran
Its disaster agency said it received a request for assistance from Iran following Raisi’s helicopter crash earlier today.
A night vision search and rescue helicopter, 32 personnel and six vehicles have been sent to the country, it said.
A further 15 rescuers have been placed on alert in case they are needed, it added.
Search and rescue teams have been battling against thick fog and heavy rain while looking for survivors and the crashed helicopter.
Turkish president ‘deeply saddened’ by helicopter crash
Turkey’s president has said he is “deeply saddened” by the helicopter crash involving his “brother Raisi.
Writing on X, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was in full contact with the Iranian authorities and stood ready to provide any necessary support.
“I convey my best wishes to our neighbour, friend and brother Iranian people and government, and I hope to receive good news from Raisi and his delegation as soon as possible,” he added.
Putin and Xi mourn loss of ‘true’ and ‘good’ friend
President Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences, describing President Raisi as a “true friend of Russia” and an “outstanding politician”.
He says Raisi dedicated his entire life to serving his homeland and developing “good neighbourly relations between our countries”, according to AFP.
Iran has been a key military ally of Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping has described Raisi as a “good friend” to the Chinese people, adding his “tragic death” is a “great loss to the Iranian people”, Reuters reports.
China is Iran’s largest trade partner and a main buyer of its sanctioned oil.
Ramaphosa pays tribute to Iran’s late president Raisi
President Cyril Ramaphosa has mourned the passing of his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and other officials in a helicopter crash on Sunday, describing the incident as an “unthinkable tragedy”.
In a statement on Monday, Ramaphosa said he was “deeply saddened” by the air disaster that claimed the lives of Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian and others.
“This is an extraordinary, unthinkable tragedy that has claimed a remarkable leader of a nation with whom South Africa enjoys strong bilateral relations and whom we were honoured to welcome to the BRICS fold in Johannesburg in 2023,” Ramaphosa said.
Iran is one of six new countries invited last year to join the BRICS group of emerging nations that previously comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Other countries that became BRICS member states on 1 January 2024 are Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Argentina spurned the invitation to join BRICS, saying it was not the “opportune” moment for Argentina to join as a full member.