A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and several other top officials crashed in a remote forest area on Sunday, killing all on board and leaving a power vacuum at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
The presidential helicopter went down near Varzaqan in East Azarbaijan province while transporting Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the provincial governor and a representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, state media reported. There were no survivors.
The crash deals a profound blow to the hardline regime in Tehran, eliminating the president viewed by many as a potential successor to Khamenei while also claiming the life of Iran’s chief diplomat and others in the ruling elite. The cause of the incident was not immediately clear.
The 63-year-old Raisi, who had been president since 2021, was a close ally of Khamenei and considered one of the frontrunners to eventually succeed him as supreme leader, the Islamic Republic’s ultimate authority.
His hardline presidency saw an intensification of uranium enrichment, further straining of relations with the West and continued support for regional proxy groups. It was also roiled by widespread protests over women’s rights following the death of Mahsa Amini.
According to Article 131 of the Islamic Republic’s constitution, if the president dies in office, the first vice president, currently Mohammad Mokhber, assumes the presidency with the confirmation of the supreme leader, who holds ultimate authority in all state matters in Iran.
A council composed of the first vice president, the speaker of parliament, and the head of the judiciary is then responsible for organizing an election to choose a new president within a maximum of 50 days.
