A period of political uncertainty begins in Iran. President Ebrahim Raïssi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in the accident the day before their helicopter in north-west Iran. “The great spirit of the popular and revolutionary president of Iran has joined the supreme kingdom,” announced the official Irna agency, saluting the “martyrdom” of the victims.
“The president of the Iranian people, hardworking and tireless, (…) sacrificed his life for the nation,” the government reacted a little later in the morning. “We assure the loyal nation that with the help of God and the support of the people, there will not be the slightest disruption in the administration of the country,” he added.
“No sign” of life
The prospect of discovering alive the 63-year-old president, elected in 2021, and the eight other passengers, had gradually diminished during the night. They included the governor of East Azerbaijan province, the region’s main imam, as well as the president’s security chief and three crew members.
The helicopter disappeared early Sunday afternoon while flying over a steep, forested area in difficult weather conditions with rain and thick fog.
The wreckage was discovered at dawn and emergency services quickly indicated that there was “no sign that the helicopter’s passengers” were alive, according to state television.
The progress of the search was closely followed internationally, particularly in the United States, Russia, China and neighboring countries, with Beijing saying it was “very worried” after the disappearance of the helicopter.
An ultraconservative in power for three years
Ebrahim Raïssi, who had the title of Ayatollah, had presided over the Islamic Republic for almost three years. Considered an ultraconservative, he was elected on June 18, 2021 in the first round of a vote marked by a record abstention for a presidential election and the absence of strong competitors.
Always wearing his black turban and wearing a long religious cloak, he succeeded the moderate Hassan Rouhani, who beat him in the 2017 presidential election.
He was supported by the main authority of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Sunday evening called on Iranians to “pray” and “hope that God will bring the president and his companions back into the arms of the Nation”. “The Iranian people should not worry, there will be no disruption in the administration of the country,” he assured.
The Constitution provides that, in the event of death, the president is replaced by the first vice-president, Mohammad Mokhber, pending the holding of a presidential election within 50 days.
Russia salutes the disappearance of a “true” friend
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first leader to officially react to the announcement, saying he was “deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic death” of the Iranian president. Pakistan, for its part, declared a day of mourning, “and the flag will be at half-mast” in “solidarity with Iran”, a “brother” country, wrote the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, on the social network “The immense Iranian nation will overcome this tragedy with its usual courage,” he added, while Islamabad welcomed the Iranian leader with great fanfare at the end of April.
“We share the sadness and pain of the brotherly Iranian people,” commented the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, hailing the deceased as “support for the Palestinian resistance.” Ditto for the powerful Hezbollah in Lebanon: “The martyred president was a big brother for us, a solid support (..) and a protector of the resistance movements”, affirmed the formation which fights Israel from the south of Lebanon.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, praised the memory of the Iranian president and his Foreign Minister, whom he described as “true and reliable friends.”
Finally, the President of the European Council Charles Michel presented the EU’s “sincere condolences” on Monday on the social network X.
“Hard landing”
President Raïssi was on board the plane in the company of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of the province and the main imam of the region, according to the Irna agency.
The aircraft, a Bell 212, was part of a convoy of three helicopters carrying the presidential delegation, two of which landed without incident in Tabriz, the large city in the northwest, from where Ebrahim Raïssi was to reach Tehran. Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi raised the possibility of a “hard landing” of the presidential apparatus, without giving details.
Ebrahim Raïssi visited the province of Eastern Azerbaijan on Sunday, where he notably inaugurated a dam in the company of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, on the border between the two countries.
During a joint press conference, he once again gave his support to Hamas against Israel. “We believe that Palestine is the first question of the Muslim world,” he declared.
Iran launched an unprecedented attack on April 13 against Israel, with 350 drones and missiles, most of which were intercepted with the help of the United States and several other allied countries.
Ebrahim Raïssi emerged strengthened from the legislative elections held in March, the first national election since the protest movement which shook Iran at the end of 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for non-compliance with the dress code strict of the Islamic Republic.
Born in November 1960, Ebrahim Raïssi spent most of his career in the judicial system, notably being prosecutor general of Tehran and then prosecutor general of the country. Ebrahim Raïssi was on the American blacklist of Iranian officials sanctioned by Washington for “complicity in serious human rights violations”, accusations dismissed as null and void by the authorities in Tehran.
Aged 60, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was appointed head of Iranian diplomacy by Ebrahim Raïssi in July 2021.