Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has confirmed first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, as the country’s acting president after President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash that also killed Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Several officials, including a provincial governor, were on board when the aircraft went down in northern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. They all are believed to be dead.
Khamenei also declares five days of national mourning. New elections will be held within 50 days.
World and regional leaders send condolences following the deaths of Raisi and Amirabdollahian.
Iran’s military chief of staff has ordered a probe into the cause of the helicopter crash, according to the country’s ISNA news agency.
Funeral ceremonies for the president and his companions will take place on Tuesday at 9:30am local time (06:00 GMT) in Tabriz, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has blamed US sanctions for the crash in an interview with his country’s state television.
Independent aviation analyst Alex Macheras has told Al Jazeera it is likely that the decades-long sanctions against Iran have played a role in the helicopter crash because its fleet is old and deteriorating.
The helicopter that crashed did not have its signal system turned on or did not possess such a system, according to Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu.
