what we know about the death of President Ebrahim Raïssi

Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi died on Sunday May 19 in the crash of his helicopter above Iranian Azerbaijan. His sudden death sent shockwaves through the country as world leaders paid tribute to the late president.

A country in shock. The Iranian authorities announced, Monday, May 20, the death of President Ebrahim Raïssi, killed in the crash of his helicopter the day before above Iranian Azerbaijan, a region located in the northwest of the country where he had just inaugurated a dam with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, is also one of the victims.

The search, which began immediately after the disappearance of one of the three helicopters of the presidential delegation, was made difficult due to “unfavorable” weather conditions in a mountainous area plunged into thick fog, the Minister of Defense said. Interior Ahmed Vahidi on state television. The presence on board of Ebrahim Raïssi, initially uncertain, was later confirmed. The debris of the aircraft was finally found around fifteen hours after the crash, spotted against the side of a mountain according to images broadcast by several media. The bodies of the eight victims of the crash, including that of Ebrahim Raïssi, were recovered in the morning on Monday, announced the Red Crescent.

An international emotion

President of the Islamic Republic ofIranEbrahim Raïssi, a 63-year-old ultra conservative, was elected head of the country in 2021 after succeeding the moderate Hassan Rouhani, who was unable to run again in the elections after two successive mandates.

This Monday, it was the local media which, initially, announced the death of the president after the information provided by the country’s main press agencies. “The great spirit of the popular and revolutionary president of Iran has joined the supreme kingdom” indicated the Irma agency, while saluting “the martyrdom” of the victims present on board the helicopter. Information confirmed a few hours later by the authorities, who, in a press release, announced that the death of the president would not cause “the slightest disruption in the administration” of the country.

Several countries have already expressed their sadness at the announcement of the terrible news. Thus, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan said “we share the pain of the friendly and brotherly Iranian people”. For his part, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad presented his condolences to the entire country while proclaiming his “solidarity” with Tehran. “We worked with the late president to ensure that the strategic relations between Syria and Iran remained prosperous,” he explained.

The European Union, for its part, presented its “sincere condolences”, when Russia considers having lost “true friends”.