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Iran's President Raisi killed in helicopter crash

What we're covering

  • Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash at age 63, the government confirmed. The country's foreign minister and seven others were killed after the crash in a remote, mountainous area of Iran's northwest.
  • Raisi was the second-most powerful person in the Islamic Republic after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is now acting president, and top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani has been appointed acting foreign minister.
  • The president's death comes at a fraught moment in the Middle East, just weeks after Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel in response to a deadly strike on its diplomatic compound in Damascus.
  • Hardliner Raisi became president in a historically uncompetitive election in 2021. He has overseen intensified repression of dissent in a nation convulsed by youth-led protests against clerical rule.
11:28 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Our live coverage has ended

Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi here.
11:12 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Global leaders send condolences following Raisi's death

Reaction to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi continued to filter through on Monday.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Iran, "we send your country our deepest condolences and sincere sympathy" following the crash, which killed Raisi along with eight others. "May God have mercy on them," the crown prince added.
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "I remember Mr. Raisi with respect and gratitude. As Türkiye, we will stand by our neighbor Iran in these difficult and sad times, as we have done many times."
  • Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent "a cable of condolences" after the crash, "wishing them [families of the deceased] and the Iranian people and solace."
  • NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said in a brief statement that the Western military alliance sends its "condolences to the people of Iran for the death of President Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and others who perished in the helicopter crash."
  • Chinese leader Xi Jinping said, "his unfortunate death is a huge loss to the Iranian people and also makes the Chinese people lose a good friend," according to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. "The Chinese government and the Chinese people cherish the traditional friendship between China and Iran very much, and believe that with the joint efforts of both sides, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Iran will continue to consolidate and develop."
Read more on the international reaction here.
10:30 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Iran's army chief orders investigation into cause of helicopter crash

A rescue team carries a body following a helicopter crash carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, Iran, on May 20. WANA/Reuters

Iran’s chief of staff of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, has ordered an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Tasnim news agency said. 

A high-ranking delegation, headed by a military commander and including technical experts, will go to the crash site in Eastern Azerbaijan, Tasnim said.

The helicopter crashed in a remote mountainous region in northwestern Iran on Sunday, killing Raisi, his foreign minister and seven others.

10:14 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Upcoming election could be "watershed moment" for Iran, analyst says

Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi waves after casting his ballot for presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2021. Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images

The upcoming, early election to replace Ebrahim Raisi as president could be a "watershed moment for Iran" if the country's supreme leader allows a range of candidates to stand, a Middle East expert has told CNN.

"I would argue that the most consequential immediate impact of his death is who will come in his wake," Mohammad Ali Shabani, the editor of Amwaj.media, told CNN's Becky Anderson Monday.

"That election can be a watershed moment for Iran," he said.

Shabani conceded that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "is more inclined towards conservative rule than to open up the political space."

But he said Khamenei "has always emphasized voter turnout as a litmus test of the legitimacy of the system."

Raisi became president of Iran in June 2021 after winning a historically uncompetitive presidential election. Many reform-minded Iranians had refused to take part in an election widely seen as a foregone conclusion, and turnout slumped below 50%.

Khamenei "has now... a golden opportunity to, in a face-saving way, reverse course" by allowing competitive elections and encouraging turnout, Shabani said.

8:37 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Body of President Raisi to be moved to city of Mashhad on Tuesday

The body of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the other victims of Sunday's helicopter crash will be transferred on Tuesday from Tabriz to the northeastern city of Mashhad, where Raisi was born, according to Fars news. 

A large public ceremony is scheduled to take place at a prayer hall in Tabriz at 4 p.m. local time on Monday, Fars news reported. 

At 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday, a large procession will accompany the bodies of Raisi and the other victims from Tabriz Martyr's Square to the city's airport. From there, the bodies will be moved to Mashhad, according to Fars. 

Raisi was born in Mashhad in 1960. He ran the powerful charity known as Astan-e Quds-e Razavi, which manages the huge Imam Reza shrine, a major Islamic holy site in the city.

8:38 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Iran's president has died. Here's what we know about what comes next

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi at Saadabad Cultural & Historical Complex in Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2023. Sakineh Salimi/Borna News/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was confirmed dead by state media on Monday morning, after a helicopter he was traveling in alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and seven others crashed in foggy conditions in the country's remote northwest on Sunday.

Here's what to know now:
Acting president: In the wake of Raisi's death, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed as acting president.
Acting foreign minister: Ali Bagheri Kani, who has led Iranian delegations through indirect negotiations with the United States over nuclear issues and prisoner exchanges, has been appointed acting foreign minister after the death of Amir-Abdollahian, state news agency IRNA reported.
New elections: The Iranian constitution mandates that the three heads of the branches of government, including the vice president, speaker of the parliament, and head of the judiciary, must arrange for an election and elect a new leader within 50 days of assuming the role of acting President. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a message to state news agencies that Mokhber was responsible for organizing elections for a new president within that time.
Public mourning: Ayatollah Khamenei has announced five days of public mourning after the crash, and expressed his condolences. All cultural and arts activities have been canceled in Iran for the next seven days.
Global reaction: The loss of Raisi — a conservative hardliner and protege of Ayatollah Khamenei — is expected to sow further uncertainty in a country already buckling under significant economic and political strain, with tensions with nearby Israel at a dangerous high. His death has already triggered international reaction with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India and the UAE leader expressing their condolences for his death. Lebanon has declared three days of mourning.
Militias respond: Iran-backed militant groups Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah have sent condolences to Tehran over the death of Raisi. 

5:39 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Iran cancels all cultural and arts activities for seven days

All cultural and arts activities in Iran will be suspended for seven days following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, the Ministry of Culture announced on Monday.

Raisi died in a helicopter crash at age 63.

The country’s foreign minister and seven others were also killed after the crash in a remote, mountainous area of Iran’s northwest.

8:37 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Iran's acting president holds "extraordinary meeting" with heads of legislative and judiciary branches 

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber speaks during Iran's government cabinet in Tehran, Iran, on May 20. Iran's Presidency/WANA/Reuters

Iran's acting president Mohammad Mokhber held an "extraordinary meeting" on Monday with the heads of the legislative and judicial branches following the announcement of President Ebrahim Raisi's death, according to Iranian state media. 

Mokhber spoke with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Hujjat al-Islam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, the head of Iran's Judiciary, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News. 

The three expressed their condolences and reaffirmed the three branches of government will continue its duties to the nation "without any interruption," Tasnim reported.  

5:19 a.m. ET, May 20, 2024

Iran appoints top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister, state media reports

Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani leaves the Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria, on August 4, 2022. Lisa Leutner/Reuters

Ali Bagheri Kani, who has led Iranian delegations through indirect negotiations with the United States over nuclear issues and prisoner exchanges, has been appointed acting foreign minister after the death of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, state news agency IRNA reported.

Amir-Abdollahian was among the nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Iran's remote northwestern mountainous region on Sunday, along with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

“Following the martyrdom of Hussein Amir Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of our country, with the approval of the Cabinet Board, Ali Bagheri, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the acting minister of the ministry,” state news agency IRNA said.
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