Pakistan observes day of mourning today, national flag will fly at half mast as a mark of respect for Raisi PM Shehbaz visits Iranian Embassy to offer condolences  Foreign Office says Pakistan saddened over martyrdom of Iran’s president, FM.  Gulf states mourn Iran president after fatal crash.  Putin says Iran’s Raisi was an ‘outstanding’ leader.

TEHRAN/ISLAMABAD/ DUBAI   -   Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Maj Gen Mohammad Hossein Bagheri Monday instructed a high-ranking delegation to investigate the cause of the helicopter crash killing President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the official IRNA news agency reported on 20 May.

A delegation led by Brig Gen Pilot Ali Abdollahi comprising national and military experts and technicians, arrived at the crash site in East Azerbaijan and commenced their investigation into the incident, said the report. The news about the death of the top officials was announced in the early hours of 20 May after hours of search and rescue operations and the finding of the wreckage of the helicopter.

Raisi and his entourage were killed in a helicopter crash while returning from a visit to a north-western border region. Among those aboard were East Azerbaijan Governor General Malek Rahmati and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative in the province.

IRNA added that the results of the investigations would be communicated subsequently.

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after search and rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ultimate authority in Iran, declared five days of mourning and assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, to assume interim duties ahead of elections within 50 days.

Earlier Monday, state TV announced that “the servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, has achieved the highest level of martyrdom” and broadcast pictures from Raisi’s life.

The ultraconservative Raisi, 63, had been in office since 2021, during a time that has seen Iran rocked by mass protests, economic crisis deepened by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch enemy Israel.

Condolences flooded in from Palestinian group, Lebanon, and from Syria.

Khamenei had urged Iranians Sunday, as the search was still ongoing, to “not worry” about the leadership of the Islamic republic, saying “there will be no disruption in the country’s work”.

Killed alongside Raisi were Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, known for his fierce anti-Israel sentiment and seven others, including the crew, bodyguards and political and religious officials.

Iran’s one-time top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was appointed as acting foreign minister.

A black flag was hoisted at a major Shiite shrine in city of Qom, south of Tehran, as a sign of mourning for Raisi, whom many had considered a favourite to one day succeed the supreme leader.

Iranian authorities first raised the alarm on Sunday afternoon when they lost contact with Raisi’s helicopter as it flew through a fog-shrouded mountain area of the Jolfa region of East Azerbaijan province.

Raisi had earlier met Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on their common border to inaugurate a dam project.

On the return trip, only two of the three helicopters in his convoy landed in the city of Tabriz, setting off a massive search and rescue effort, with multiple foreign governments soon offering help.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi at first spoke of a “hard landing” and urged citizens to ignore hostile foreign media channels and get their information “only from state television”.

Army personnel, Revolutionary Guards and police officers joined the search as Red Crescent teams walked up a hill in the fog and rain and rows of emergency services vehicles waited nearby.

Muslim faithful across the nation started to pray for those missing, including in mosques in Raisi’s hometown, the shrine city of Mashhad.

As the sun rose on Monday, rescue crews said they had located the destroyed Bell 212 helicopter, with no survivors among the nine people on board.

State television channel IRIB reported that the helicopter had “hit a mountain and disintegrated” on impact.

Iran’s Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand confirmed that its staff were “transferring the bodies of the martyrs to Tabriz” and that “the search operations have come to an end”.

“We were very sad when we learnt the news,” said one Tehran resident, 63-year-old retiree Nabi Karam. “Our president was a very good leader, may God bless him.”

The cabinet vowed that the government’s work will go on “without the slightest disruption” and said that “we assure the loyal nation that the path of service will continue with the tireless spirit of Ayatollah Raisi”.

Expressions of concern and offers of help had quickly come from countries including China, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey, which later offered their condolences.

US President Joe Biden was briefed about the search and the European Union  activated its rapid response mapping service to aid in the search effort.

Raisi had in 2021 succeeded the moderate Hassan Rouhani, at a time the economy was battered by US sanctions over Iran’s contested nuclear programme.

Gulf states mourn Iran president, top diplomat after fatal crash

Iran’s Gulf neighbours on Monday mourned the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash.

Saudi Arabia offered “condolences to his excellency, the acting head of the executive authority, Mohammad Mokhber, on the death of his excellency Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his companions,” said a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the oil-rich UAE “stands in solidarity with Iran at this difficult time”.

In another statement on social media platform X, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, called the news “painful”, expressing his “sincere condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa “expressed his sincere condolences and deep sympathy to Iran’s supreme leader and the brotherly people of the Iranian Republic over this painful incident”, according to a statement carried by the official Bahrain News Agency.

Jassem al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), extended his condolences following the “tragic accident”.

In a statement released by the Gulf body, Budaiwi reaffirmed “the solidarity of the GCC with the government and people of Iran in these difficult circumstances”.

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said and Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad Al-Sabah separately sent cables of condolences to Iran’s supreme leader.

Martyrdom of Iran’s president

The government and the people of Pakistan on Monday expressed deep shock and sadness over the tragic news of the martyrdom of President of Iran Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, and the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash.

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and to the people and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this moment of profound sorrow and grief. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the martyrs and the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We stand in solidarity with them in this time of national tragedy,” the Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.

She said that President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were esteemed leaders and statesmen whose contributions to their country and reinforcing Pakistan-Iran relations and regional cooperation will always be remembered. She recalled that both leaders had visited Pakistan this April when important understandings were reached by the two sides to further solidify their bilateral ties.

Pakistan reiterates its commitment to furthering the bonds of friendship and cooperation with Iran, as envisioned by the late leaders, she added.

PM visits Iranian Embassy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that the country will observe a day of mourning on Tuesday to honour the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other senior officials in a helicopter crash.

“Pakistan will observe a day of mourning and the flag will fly at half mast as a mark of respect for President Raisi and his companions and in solidarity with Brotherly Iran,” PM Shehbaz said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

Also, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the Iranian Embassy in Islamabad this afternoon to convey his deepest condolences to the Government and people of Iran on the tragic demise of President Dr. Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir Hossain Abdollahian, and other senior Iranian officials in a helicopter crash.

While speaking to Iranian Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghaddam, the Prime Minister paid rich tributes to the late Iranian President. He fondly recalled his interactions with President Raisi, who he said was a great leader, a visionary and a scholar.

He recalled his productive interactions with the late Iranian President in 2022 and 2023. The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Pakistan would remain committed to further strengthening of brotherly ties between the two countries as he and the late President had jointly agreed upon during the latter’s recent successful visit to Pakistan.

The Prime Minister also signed the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy on this solemn occasion.

Raisi had ‘blood on his hands’

The US has offered its “official condolences” to Iran following the death of President Raisi.

At a press conference on Monday, however, State Department Press Secretary Matt Miller had few kind words for the late leader.

He called Raisi a brutal participant in the oppression of the Iranian people. He said he was responsible for the deaths of thousands and some of the worst human rights abuses.

“We regret any loss of life,” he said. “That doesn’t change the record... He has blood on his hands.”

Miller also said the US was aware that some Iranian opposition groups were welcoming Raisi’s death – and said that he understood why they felt that way.

When I asked him whether he was also aware of the threats made against those celebrating by supporters of the Iranian regime, he said he was – and warned Iran not to infringe on the “fundamental freedoms” of the Iranian people.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as an “outstanding politician” and said his death in a helicopter crash was an “irreplaceable loss.”

“Raisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was dedicated to serving his homeland,” Putin said in a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published on the Kremlin website.

“As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good-neighbourly relations between our countries, and made great efforts to take them to the level of a strategic partnership,” he added.

The Kremlin leader said he was sending condolences to Khamenei and the Iranian people “in the face of such a grave and irreplaceable loss.”

Putin also on Monday spoke by telephone with Mohammad Mokhber, Iran’s interim president, just hours after he was confirmed in the role by Khamenei. Putin “expressed his deepest condolences”, the Kremlin said.

Raisi was declared dead after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region.