Leader declares 5 days of mourning over Raeisi's martyrdom

In a message issued on Monday morning, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed his great sadness over the death of President Raeisi in the incident that took place in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province a day earlier.

In the message, the Supreme Leader described Raeisi as a hard-working cleric and a popular president who dedicated his life to serving the people of Iran, the country and Islam.

“In this bitter tragedy, the Iranian nation lost a warm-hearted, humble and valued servant,” said Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that President Raeisi never stopped his hard and round-the-clock work for the people of Iran despite being faced with criticisms of ill-wishers.

He offered condolences to the Iranian nation and approved Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber to take over as interim president and to cooperate with the heads of the Iranian parliament and judiciary to prepare the ground for the election of a new president within the next 50 days.

Ayatollah Khamenei also expressed sadness over the death of other senior officials who were with President Raeisi in the helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian as well as Tabriz Friday prayer leader and the provincial governor.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have martyred in a helicopter crash in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

The helicopter carrying President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province.

It was transporting Raeisi, Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem , and a member of the president’s bodyguard team Mahdi Mousavi. The helicopter’s pilot, co-pilot and crew were also among others on board the chopper.

President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

MNA/