Search teams located the wreckage in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Monday. Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were travelling back from neighbouring Azerbaijan in one of three helicopters as part of a convoy when their aircraft crashed on Sunday.
Interior minister Ahmad Vahidi earlier said the helicopter “made a hard landing” in bad weather and that it was “difficult to establish communication” with the aircraft.
Ebrahim Raisi (centre), in one of the last images taken of him, on the site of a dam at the Aras River at the Iran and Azerbaijan shared border in northwest Iran, before his helicopter crashed in Iranian territory. Credit: EPA
So what happens next, and what does it mean for Iran with such high officials now confirmed dead?
Who is Ebrahim Raisi?
“Although it will be a tight competition, I think President Raisi has more blood on his hands than any other official of the Islamic Republic,” said Arash Azizi, a political analyst at the Center for Middle East and Global Order.
President Raisi has more blood on his hands than any other official.
Arash Azizi
What happens if an Iranian president dies in office?
A council consisting of the first vice president, the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary must arrange an election for a new president within a maximum period of 50 days.
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and, under the current timetable, presidential elections are due to take place in 2025.
What would Raisi’s death mean for Iran?
“His absence would be definitely seen … when the regime needs him badly.”
Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday. Credit: SBS
Many had seen Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi’s main policies.
“There is a deep division between the hardliners definitely — the next presidential election would be quite difficult for the regime.”
The next presidential election would be quite difficult for the regime.
Alam Saleh
Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear program, had earlier sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.
What happens if foul play is proven?
Azizi, writing in The Atlantic, said the incident might very well have been an accident.
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi (left) speaks with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Hours later, Raisi’s helicopter would crash in Iranian territory. Credit: AP
“Iran doesn’t seem like a country in which presidents die by accident. But it also is a country in which aircraft crash, due to the sorry state of infrastructure in the internationally isolated Islamic Republic.”
Saleh said it could have been an accident due to bad weather, or technical error or mistakes that led to the crash.
But if it were proven to be a foreign actor, Saleh said Iran was unlikely to retaliate hard.
Additional reporting by Reuters news agency