Iran’s state TV has confirmed that President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several others lost their lives in Sunday’s helicopter crash in northwestern Iran.
Among the victims were Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, the imam for Friday prayers in Tabriz, and General Malek Rahmati, the governor of East Azerbaijan province. The president’s protection unit commander, Sardar Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, also perished, along with several bodyguards and helicopter crew members who have not yet been named.
The helicopter was reported to have been “completely burned” in the crash, according to an Iranian official cited by Reuters.