Yahoo News Iran president death latest: Ebrahim Raisi’s funeral procession underway as US says he had ‘blood on his hands’
A funeral procession for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took place in the city of Tabriz on Tuesday, close to the site where his helicopter crashed on Sunday afternoon.
Tens of thousands of people turned out for the event in the capital of the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, expected to be one of several processions across the country over the coming weeks. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expected to lead congregational funeral prayers in Tehran after another procession in the holy city of Qom.
Despite the vast turnout, mourning across the country for the hardline leader has been muted. Raisi, nicknamed the “Butcher of Tehran” for his role in executing anti-regime protesters in the 1980s, also presided over a vicious crackdown against further protest in 2022 and last year.
US State department spokesperson Matt Miller said Raisi “has blood on his hands” for his involvement in suppressing dissent.
He described the former hardline cleric as “a brutal participant in the repression of the Iranian people for nearly four decades”.
Key points
Ebrahim Raisi had ‘blood on his hands’, US says
Iran opens probe into Raisi’s helicopter crash
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi declared dead
New acting president appointed with 50 days to hold elections
Iran helicopter crash wreckage seen in drone video
Tuesday 21 May 2024 03:00 , Alexander Butler
Iran president’s helicopter crash wreckage seen in drone video
Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
Tuesday 21 May 2024 04:00 , Alexander Butler
Ebrahim Raisi: Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
Iran opens probe into Raisi’s helicopter crash
Tuesday 21 May 2024 04:25 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Iran has opened an investigation in to the helicopter crash that killed president Ebrahim Raisi, foreign minister Amir Abdollahian and other officials.
They were travelling in a US-made helicopter from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan after inaugurating a dam project when the aircraft crashed in a mountanious region of northwest Iran.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces major general Mohammad Bagheri has assigned a high-ranking delegation to investigate the crash, IRNA reported.
Watch: Rescuers struggle to reach scene of Iranian president’s helicopter crash due to weather
Tuesday 21 May 2024 05:00 , Alexander Butler
Iran to hold presidential election on 28 June
Tuesday 21 May 2024 05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Iran will hold an election on 28 June to find the successor for president Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
The date was finalised in a meeting chaired by interim president Mohammad Mokhber on Monday evening.
The registration of candidates will be open from 30 May to 3 June, with the campaign period running from 12 to 27 June.
The Islamic Republic’s constitution directs that in the event the president dies or is incapacitated, the first vice president shall take over for an interim period of 50 days.
During that time the acting president must work with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary to arrange for an urgent presidential election to be held.
Watch: State Department defends ‘condolences’ for Iranian president Raisi’s death
Tuesday 21 May 2024 06:00 , Alexander Butler
Iran’s ex-foreign minister blames US sanctions for helicopter crash
Tuesday 21 May 2024 06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed US-imposed sanctions on Iran for the crash of the American Bell 212 helicopter that was carrying president Ebrahim Raisi and seven others.
The Bell 212 helicopter that crashed was purchased by Iran in the early 2000s, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. But aircraft in Iran face a shortage of parts because of Western sanctions, and often fly without safety checks.
“One of the main culprits of yesterday’s tragedy is the United States, which ... embargoed the sale of aircraft and aviation parts to Iran and does not allow the people of Iran to enjoy good aviation facilities,” Mr Zarif told The Associated Press.
There are 15 Bell 212 helicopters with an average age of 35 years currently registered in Iran that could be in active use or in storage, according to aviation data firm Cirium.
Lebanon and Syria announce three days of mourning
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Lebanon and Syria on Monday announced three days of national mourning for the Iranian president and foreign minister, who were killed in a helicopter crash.
Iran enjoys sway in both countries, backing the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon and supporting Syria’s government and security forces stay in power throughout more than a decade of war.
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am about this incident that happened. Especially that the foreign minister had become a friend,” Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told reporters.
Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, as well as other Lebanese officials and Hezbollah, offered their condolences for the deaths.
State department criticized for sending ‘condolences’ for Raisi’s death
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The US state department found itself playing defense on Monday after a spokesman offered “official condolences” for the death of Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi, alleged to have been responsible for ordering the murders of Iranian dissidents and brutal crackdowns on protesters.
Matthew Miller was sharply questioned by reporters at his daily briefing over the statement, which bore his name and was released minutes before the briefing took place.
In his response, he noted that the US had made similar statements after the deaths of other leaders with bloody records, such as Josef Stalin.
He also insisted that the statement “in no way — in no way at all undermines” the state department’s criticism of the Iranian government on issues of human rights and US opposition to Iranian support for various militant groups across the Middle East.
John Bowden reports.
Biden criticized for ‘condolences’ after death of ‘monster’ Iranian president Raisi
Live: Funeral of Iran's president Raisi after fatal helicopter crash
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:52 , Tom Watling
Here are some of the latest photos from Raisi’s funeral procession
Tuesday 21 May 2024 09:00 , Tom Watling
Below we have some of the latest photos from the funeral procession of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raise, foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the six other crew members who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of Iranians appear to have turned out for the procession, which is being held in the northwestern city of Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province.
The crash site was located nearby on Monday after rescue teams navigated difficult, foggy conditions and mountainous terrain.
Who is Mohammad Mokhber? The interim president who will lead Iran for next 50 days
Tuesday 21 May 2024 09:30 , Tom Watling
Who is Mohammad Mokhber? The interim president who will lead Iran for next 50 days
Mapped: Where did Iran President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash?
Tuesday 21 May 2024 10:00 , Tom Watling
Where did Iran President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash?
Ebrahim Raisi: Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
Tuesday 21 May 2024 10:34 , Tom Watling
Ebrahim Raisi: Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
How helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi unfolded
Tuesday 21 May 2024 11:00 , Tom Watling
How helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi unfolded
Russia’s Lavrov on crash that killed Raisi: US sanctions have worsened aviation safety
Tuesday 21 May 2024 11:30 , Tom Watling
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, when commenting on the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, has claimed that US sanctions had worsened aviation safety.
White House says Iranian President had ‘blood on his hands’
Tuesday 21 May 2024 12:30 , Tom Watling
The White House has been blunt in its description of the Iranian President after it received backlash for offering its condolences to Tehran.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Ebrahim Raisi had “blood on his hands” over the alleged execution of thousands of Iranian anti-regime protesters in the 1980s.
Raisi also presided over a brutal crackdown of another wave of protests in 2022 and early 2023. The Israeli military is believed to have killed hundreds and jailed thousands over those protests, sparked by the killing of a young Iranian woman being held in police custody for failing to wear her hijab properly.
“No question this was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands,” Mr Kirby said.
But he added that “as in any other case, we certainly regret in general the loss of life and offered official condolences as appropriate”.
Here are the latest photos of mourners across the Middle East
Tuesday 21 May 2024 14:30 , Tom Watling
Below are the latest photos dropping on the wires of people mourning the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the six other crew members who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Germany's Scholz sends condolences to Iran after president's death
Tuesday 21 May 2024 15:30 , Tom Watling
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has offered his condolences to Iran after the death of the Islamic Republic’s president in an air crash, the government press office in Berlin said on Tuesday.
“Our condolences go out to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the families of those killed in the crash,” Scholz wrote to Iran‘s vice-president, according to a brief statement.
Mapped: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s multi-stage funeral
Tuesday 21 May 2024 16:30 , Tom Watling
Who is Mohammad Mokhber? The interim president who will lead Iran for next 50 days
Tuesday 21 May 2024 17:30 , Tom Watling
Who is Mohammad Mokhber? The interim president who will lead Iran for next 50 days
Mapped: Where did Iran President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash?
Tuesday 21 May 2024 18:30 , Tom Watling
Where did Iran President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash?
Images show Raisi’s coffin arriving Tehran off the presidential plane
Tuesday 21 May 2024 19:30 , Tom Watling
Ebrahim Raisi: Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
Tuesday 21 May 2024 20:30 , Tom Watling
Ebrahim Raisi: Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
How helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi unfolded
Tuesday 21 May 2024 21:30 , Tom Watling
How helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi unfolded
Watch: Close-up of Iranian president’s helicopter wreckage
Tuesday 21 May 2024 22:30 , Barney Davis
Close-up of Iranian president’s helicopter wreckage broadcast on TV after crash
Search team says Iranian President’s helicopter ‘completely exploded’
Tuesday 21 May 2024 23:20 , Barney Davis
A team of search and rescue motorcyclists from the operation to find Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, have revealed that the wreckage of the helicopter was “completely exploded and everything was burned”, according to Iran International.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s former foreign minister, controversially attributed the crash to US sanctions that restrict Iran’s access to essential aviation parts.
The helicopter, a 1970s-era US Bell chopper, had been in service since the monarchy, later confiscated by the government for official use.
Observers point out that despite Iran’s strong ties with nations like Russia and China, the regime has failed to modernise or adequately maintain its aviation fleet, raising questions about the true state of its domestic military and governmental transport capabilities.
Houthis claim to have shot down US drone
Wednesday 22 May 2024 00:20 , Barney Davis
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on Tuesday they shot down an American drone over the impoverished Arab county. The U.S. military did not immediately acknowledge the claim.
If confirmed, this would be the second MQ-9 Reaper drone downed by the Houthis over the past week as they press their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Last Friday, the Houthis claimed downing an American drone over the province of Marib, hours after footage circulated online of what appeared to be the wreckage of an MQ-9 Reaper. And early Saturday, a vessel also came under attack in the Red Sea.
Where did Iran President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash?
Wednesday 22 May 2024 00:25 , Barney Davis
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner and potential successor to the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed in a helicopter crash.
The helicopter took off from the Khodaafarin Dam, in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, on Sunday afternoon.
But the helicopter later crashed in a remote and mountainous region in the Arasbaran Forest, near the border with Azerbaijan in the Varzeqan region. The helicopter had been carrying both Raisi and Amirabdollahian, as well as six other passengers and crew.
The rough distance between where the helicopter is believed to have gone down and the Khodaafarin Dam is around 80 miles.
Tom Watling has more.
Where did Iran President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash?
Putin praises Iran's Raisi, asks parliament speaker to pass on condolences
02:40 , Barney Davis
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the late president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, as a reliable partner always good to his word and asked the chairman of parliament on Tuesday to convey his sympathy at memorial events.
Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash near the Azerbaijan border over the weekend along with his foreign minister and seven others.
“He was truly a reliable partner, a man sure of himself, who acted in the national interest,” Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma lower house of parliament.
“He was, of course, a man of his word and it was always good to work with him. What I mean is if we came to an agreement on something, you could be sure the agreement was carried out,” Putin said.
The Kremlin leader asked Volodin, who will be attending memorial events in Iran, to pass on “words of our sincere condolences in connection with this tragedy”.
Putin expressed his condolences to interim Iranian president Mohammad Mokhber and to the whole Iranian people on Monday.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has strengthened political, trade and military ties with Iran in a deepening relationship that the United States and Israel view with concern.
Iraq Withholds Payments for Iranian Engineers Killed by ISIS
03:20 , Barney Davis
Iran’s Secretary of the Association of Exporters of Technical and Engineering Services has claimed the Iraqi government has failed to settle over a billion dollars owed to Iranian contractors, Iran International reports.
Bahman Salehi Javid also revealed that the families of several Iranian engineers who were killed in 2015 during ISIS attacks have not received any of the $9 million compensation per victim, legally stipulated by Iraqi laws.
Thousands turn out to mourn Iran’s President Raisi as others celebrate his death
04:05 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Thousands of Iranians have turned out to mourn the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after he was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
A video broadcast by state media showed hordes of mourners gathering for a procession through the city of Tabriz in northwest Iran, near the site where the politician’s helicopter crashed.
Raisi, 63, was one of eight passengers, including the foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on board the helicopter as it flew through a mountainous region south of neighbouring Azerbaijan in foggy conditions.
Despite the huge crowds on Tuesday, most of whom appeared to be male, swathes of the Iranian population have been celebrating Raisi’s death on social media. It is also unclear what international presence a funeral this week will draw, as Raisi faced US sanctions for his part in mass executions in 1988 and for abuses targeting protesters and dissidents while leading the country’s judiciary. Iran under Raisi also shipped bomb-carrying drones to Russia to be used in its war on Ukraine.
“I don’t feel comfortable sending condolences while Iran is sending drones that are used against civilians in Ukraine,” wrote Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on the social platform X.
Read the full story here:
Thousands turn out to mourn Iran’s President Raisi as others celebrate his death
America’s statement on the death of Iranian President Raisi and others in helicopter crash
04:20 , Barney Davis
The US State Department said: “The United States expresses its official condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran.
“As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Watch as funeral of Iran president Ebrahim Rasi held after fatal helicopter crash
04:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar
The funeral of Iranpresident Ebrahim Rasi was held following his death in a helicopter crash.
The Iranian president, the country’s foreign minister and several other officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, Iran state media reported.
Watch as funeral of Iran president Rasi held after fatal helicopter crash
Who is Mohammad Mokhber? The interim president who will lead Iran for next 50 days
05:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Iran‘s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Mohammad Mokhber as the country’s acting president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
Raisi, his foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and two senior local officials were travelling in a helicopter with their security detail when the aircraft crashed in the mountainous region of Iran’s northwest on Sunday.
The crash site was discovered on the side of a steep mountain on Monday morning with only the burned-out wreckage of the helicopter remaining. There were no survivors.
Read the full story here:
Who is Mohammad Mokhber? The interim president who will lead Iran for next 50 days
What the sudden death of Iran’s president will mean for the Middle East and beyond
05:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar
There is a series of unanswered questions around the helicopter crash which killed Ebrahim Raisi, but one thing is clear, writes Kim Sengupta – the hardline establishment will not willingly loosen its grip on power:
What the sudden death of Iran’s president will mean for the Middle East and beyond
Mourners surround truck carrying remains of Iran president
06:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar
How helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi unfolded
06:20 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi has been found dead in a helicopter crash after an hours-long search, according to state media.
The 63-year-old and Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were among senior officials whose bodies were found at the site of the crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Monday, the state-run Irna news agency reported.
The officials were travelling following a visit with the Azerbaijani president to discuss the joint Qiz-Qalasi Dam infrastructure project over the Aras River, which separates Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan, when the helicopter crashed between Jolfa and the border region Varzaqan.
Read the full story here:
How helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi unfolded
Pictures as crowds carry coffin of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran
06:40 , Barney Davis
Ebrahim Raisi: Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
07:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead in a helicopter crash after hours of frantic searching through a foggy mountainous region.
Born to a conservative family in eastern Iran, Raisi studied theology at the seminaries in Qom.
He was a teenager when the country’s popular revolution established Iran as a theocracy, but he quickly became an enthusiastic participant in enforcing the vision of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.
Read the piece here:
Ebrahim Raisi: Who was the Iranian president killed in fiery helicopter crash?
Mourners surround truck carrying remains of Iran president killed in helicopter crash
07:30 , Barney Davis
Mourners surround truck carrying remains of Iran president killed in helicopter crash
07:50 , Sam Rkaina
We’re closing our live coverage of the Iran helicopter crash but keep checking independent.co.uk for the latest updates.
