Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state media reported Monday.
Iranian state television reported there was “no sign of life” at the crash site of the helicopter that carried Raisi, Amirabdollahian, and others.
“All the passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred,” semi-official news agency Mehr News reported.
Drone footage published on state media FARS News Agency showed the chopper’s wreckage on a steep hillside.
“The consequences of this are probably going to be rather contained,” Ali Ahmadi, executive fellow at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”
President Raisi was a fairly marginal figure in national security decision, said Ahmadi, adding that Iranian foreign policy is principally governed by the Office of the Supreme Leader and the Iranian military. “The overall outline of Iranian foreign policy is not likely to change significantly.”
Raisi was returning after inaugurating a dam on Iran’s common border with the Azerbaijan Republic, when his helicopter crashed upon landing in northern Iran’s Varzaqan region on Sunday evening local time, according to state news agency IRNA.
Raisi, 63, a hardline, conservative politician was elected president in 2021 after failing to get into the office in 2017.
An established political heavyweight, he was seen as a contender to succeed supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. As president, he cracked down on dissent at home.
This is a developing story.
Story courtesy of CNBC
