Ibrahim Raisi Death: Iranian President Dies in Helicopter Crash – 5 Days of Mourning, Election of New Leader, Full Details in 8 Points

Ibrahim Raisi Death: Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi died in a helicopter accident. More than 40 teams were conducting search operations since his helicopter crashed. The Iranian President’s helicopter crashed as soon as it left the Azerbaijan border. After his death, Iran’s supreme leader Imam Ali Khamenei has announced 5 days of public mourning.

According to news agency Reuters, an Iranian official said that the helicopter was completely burnt in the crash. The weather was bad at the place where the helicopter crash happened. Due to this, the rescue workers had a lot of difficulty in reaching the spot. President Raisi had gone to Azerbaijan on Sunday to inaugurate the Kiz Kalasi and Khodafarin dams.

1- How many people died including the President and the Foreign Minister

There were 9 people on board the helicopter with the President, including Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian. These people also included Governor of East Azerbaijan Province Malik Rahmati, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali al-Hashem, representative of the Iranian Supreme Leader in East Azerbaijan, Sardar Sayyed Mehdi Mousavi, head of Raisi’s guard team, helicopter pilot Colonel Sayyed Taher Mustafavi, helicopter co-pilot Colonel Mohsen Daryanush and flight technician Major Behrouz Gadimi. Iranian state news agency IRINN and semi-official news agency Mehr News reported that no one was found alive at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. All 9 people died in the accident.

2- Five days of official mourning declared

After the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has announced 5 days of mourning. The Iranian Embassy in Delhi has also lowered its flag to half-mast.

3- Accident or conspiracy- why are questions being raised

According to a report by ‘The Economist’, many Iranians say that Israel may be behind this accident. This conspiracy theory is also coming to the fore because Iran had attacked Israel some time ago amid the ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza. Israel had then said that Iran would have to face serious consequences for this. Israel carried out an airstrike in the Syrian capital Damascus in early April in which Iran’s Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Jihadi was killed. Jihadi was a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Now many Iranians are saying that Israel is also behind Raisi’s death. However, Israel has never targeted Iran’s heads of state. On Raisi’s case, it said that we have no role in this accident.

4- Appointment of the current Vice President as Acting President

 After the death of President Ibrahim Raisi, the name of the acting President has been announced. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Mokhbar as the acting President of the country. Mokhbar will be the President for 50 days. During this time elections will be held. Apart from this, the new Foreign Minister will be Ali Bagheri Kani.

5- When will the new president be elected

Like France, elections are held in Iran every four years. The last election was held in 2021, so the next election was proposed in 2025, but after the death of Ibrahim Raisi, elections will be held soon, because the Vice President will have the right to hold power only for 50 days. A new President will have to be elected for Iran within these 50 days.

6- India’s response

PM Modi has expressed condolences on the demise of President Ibrahim Raisi. The Prime Minister wrote on ‘X’ that he is deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise of Dr. Syed Ibrahim Raisi. He said that Raisi’s contribution in strengthening India-Iran bilateral relations will always be remembered. My condolences to his family and the people of Iran. India stands with Iran in this hour of grief.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrote that it was a deep shock to hear the news of the death of Iranian President Dr. Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister H. Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash. I recall many meetings with them, including our last meeting in January 2024. Our condolences to their families. We stand with the people of Iran in this hour of grief.

7- World reactions

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences, calling Raisi’s death a ‘great tragedy’. He said, Sayyed Ibrahim Raisi was an outstanding statesman whose whole life was devoted to serving the motherland. As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good neighborly relations between our countries and made great efforts to bring them to the level of strategic partnership.

China

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference that Raisi’s death was “a great loss for the Iranian people, and the Chinese people have lost a good friend”.

Pakistan

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that he was keenly following the developments related to the crash landing of Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi’s helicopter. Good news was expected. Unfortunately, it did not happen. The government of Pakistan expresses its deepest condolences and sympathy to Iran on this terrible loss. Great Iran will come out of this tragedy with traditional courage.

Turkish

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed sympathy over the incident. Erdogan said that he is keeping a close eye on the incident. Turkey also sent a team to help in the search and rescue operation of Raisi and his team.

Iraq

Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid also expressed concern over the incident. He has discussed the incident with Iran’s ambassador in Baghdad. He also spoke to Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Mokhbar over the phone.

8- Where did the accident happen , how remote is the area

President Raisi had gone to Azerbaijan to inaugurate the Kiz Kalasi and Khodafarin dams. After the inauguration, he was heading towards the city of Tabriz. Tabriz is the capital of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. Meanwhile, the helicopter crashed somewhere on the way. The area where the helicopter made a hard landing is near the city of Varjakan, 50 kilometers from the city of Tabriz. There was a lot of fog at the place where the helicopter crashed. A reporter present with the rescue team said that the visibility in the hills and dense forest was only up to five meters.

ALso Read –

Watch this footage from where the Iranian President’s helicopter crashed