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| President Raisi. |
Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei has announced 5 days of national mourning following the tragic death of President Raisi death in a helicopter crash earlier today.
The announcement of President Raisi's demise came early Monday morning, following the crash of his helicopter en route to Tabriz City after inaugurating the Qiz Qalasi Dam at the border with Azerbaijan Republic on Sunday.
Also onboard were Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, East Azarbaijan Province’s Governor Malek Rahmati, Mehdi Mousavi (head of Mr. Raisi’s guard team), and Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem, the Supreme Leader’s representative in the province. Local authorities at the crash site confirmed the tragic loss.
The Iranian government pledged to issue an official statement promptly as investigations continue into the incident. This calamity unfolded as one of the three helicopters in the convoy carrying President Raisi crashed on Sunday.
The helicopter reportedly suffered a “hard landing” near Jolfa, a city bordering Azerbaijan, about 600km (375 miles) northwest of Tehran, the Iranian capital.
The State TV said, “Some unconfirmed reports say that the helicopter carrying President Raisi has had an accident in East Azerbaijan province.”
Disclosing that rescue efforts were underway, the news outlet added, “The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site.”
The 63-year-old was in Azerbaijan with the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, earlier in the day to inaugurate a dam, the third one both countries built on the Aras River.
Other officials on board included Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Chuck Schumer, the United States Senate majority leader, on Sunday evening, said the crashing of a helicopter conveying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was an accident.
The New York politician said preliminary findings of American intelligence indicated the incident was unplanned, and no foul play was immediately suspected.
Mr Schumer’s statement said “no evidence of foul play” in the helicopter crash. “It was very bad, foggy weather, northwest Iran where the copter crashed. So it looks like an accident, but it’s still being fully investigated.”
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