Iran’s deputy assumes presidency after Ebrahim Raisi dies in accident

After the death of Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, was confirmed in a helicopter crash this Sunday (19), the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed vice-president Mohammad Mokber as interim head of state. Furthermore, he decreed five days of mourning.

The helicopter in which Raisi was traveling also included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdoullahian, and eight other people. The president’s remains were found by Iranian relief teams in the northwest of the country after 12 hours of searches.

Also traveling on the aircraft were the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, Malek Rahmati; the religious leader of Tabriz, Mohammadali Al-Hashem; the president’s bodyguard; General Mehdi Mousavi, a member of the Ansar al-Mahdi base of the Revolutionary Guards; the pilot, the co-pilot and the flight engineer.

This Monday morning (20), the Brazilian Ministry of International Relations issued a note in which it said that the government received the news of the deaths with “deep consternation” and extended “to the family members of President Raisi, Chancellor Abdollahian and the other victims, and to the Iranian government and people the most sincere feelings of solidarity and sorrow for the irreparable losses”.

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According to the official Iranian press, the helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country due to adverse weather conditions. The accident occurred between the villages of Pir Davood and Uzi, in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, about 600 km northwest of Tehran, the Iranian capital.

Ebrahim Raisi, aged 63, was elected president of Iran in 2021 and his term would extend until 2025. In the country’s government structure, he was the second most important ruler, behind Khamenei. Raisi was seen as a possible successor to the ayatollah. His actions were marked by harsh repression against activists, women and critics of the regime.

The funeral of the Iranian president will be held this Tuesday (21), in Tabriz. The new president takes over on an interim basis, until new elections take place within 50 days, as established by Iran’s Constitution.

With agencies

(PL)