Iran President dies in chopper crash, Vice President to assume interim duties

Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed to assume interim duties by Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash a day beforeVice President Mohammad Mokhber has been appoinnted to assume interim duties by Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday in light of President Ebrahim Raisis death in a helicopter crash a day beforeIranian State media earlier today confirmed the deaths of the 63yearold Raisi his foreign minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian and seven others in Sundays helicopter crash in the mountainous region of the countrys East Azerbaijan province a day earlierMeanwhile the Iranian cabinet has appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister following the death of Hossein AmirAbdollahianAs per an ANI report in a message issued on Monday morning Khamenei expressed his great sadness over the deaths and offered condolences to people of his countryVice President Mohammad Mokhber is expected to assume interim duties shortlyIn accordance with Article 131 of the constitution Mokhber is in charge of leading the executive branch Khamenei said in a statement He added that Mokhber will be required to work with the heads of legislative and judicial to prepare for presidential elections within a maximum period of 50 days he saidEarlier today Iranian state media IRNA shared drone footage shot by the the Red Crescent showing the wreckage of the crashed helicopterNews outlet Tasnim which is affiliated to the countrys Islamic Revolution Guards Corps reported that Raisis funeral will be held tomorrow in TabrizKani has served as deputy foreign minister since September 2021 reported Al JazeeraMoreover he was deputy secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council between 2007 and 2013 Al Jazeera reportedThe helicopter carrying Raisi Foreign Minister AmirAbdollahian and his accompanying delegation crashed a day ago in the Dizmar forest nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province state media Press TV reported todayThe Iranian President was returning following a visit to Azerbaijan when his helicopter came down in bad weather conditionsIrans Supreme Leader described Raisi as a hardworking cleric and a popular president who dedicated his life to serving the people of Iran the country and Islam according to IRNAIn this bitter tragedy the Iranian nation lost a warmhearted humble and valued servant Khamenei said adding that President Raisi never stopped his hard and roundtheclock work for the people of Iran despite being faced with criticism from illwishersMoreover the Iranian Supreme Leader also expressed sadness over the deaths of other senior officials who were with President Raisi in the helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian the Tabriz Friday prayer leader and the provincial governorWith inputs from ANI