By Irum Saleem
With suspicion of ‘foul play’ the Iran’s military chief Mohammad Bagheri has ordered investigation into the cause of a helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage.
“Bagheri has ordered a high-ranking committee to launch an investigation into the cause of the president’s helicopter crash that took place on Sunday,” the ISNA news agency says.
Raisi, a hardliner long seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border. The charred wreckage of the helicopter which crashed on Sunday carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other passengers and crew was found early on Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.
IRNA further says Supreme Leader Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear programme, said First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would take over as interim president. “I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran,” Khamenei said. Under Iran’s constitution, a new presidential election must be held within 50 days.
A long shadow war between Iran and Israel broke into the open last month with tit-for-tat exchanges of drone and missile fire with many pointing Israel and the US for the death of the Irani president on social media.
Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear programme, sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.
The Iranian government will continue to operate “without the slightest disruption” following Raisi’s death, said a cabinet statement. PAK DESTINY
