Bodies Of Iranian President, Entourage Retrieved

The bodies of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other passengers martyred in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran have been retrieved and are being taken to Tabriz, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said. Pir-Hossein Koulivand said on Monday morning that the search operation for the helicopter of the president was in progress incessantly during the night in the foggy and rainy weather.

He said the rescue teams were deployed to the crash scene after an Iranian drone detected the exact location of wreckage of the helicopter.

All bodies of the passengers of the helicopter have been transferred to ambulances and are being taken to the cemetery of Tabriz, he stated.

The tragic accident happened as the president and his entourage were returning from Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan after inaugurating a dam at the common border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The crash has killed President Raisi, Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian, Friday prayers leader of Tabriz Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem, Governor of East Azarbaijan Malek Rahmati, and members of the president’s security team and the crew._

Meanwhile Ali Bagheri Kani appointed as Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister

The cabinet of Iran has appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister following the death of Hossein Amirabdollahian.

He has served as deputy foreign minister since September 2021.

Kani was deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council between 2007 and 2013. 

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has assigned Vice President Mohammad Mokhber to assume interim duties after President Ebrahim Raisi’s death.

Born in 1955, Mokhber – like Raisi – is seen as being close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the last say in all matters of state.

Shortly after taking office, Raisi appointed Mokhber as his first vice president in August 2021.

Before his appointment to the vice presidency, Mokhber served for 14 years as head of Iran’s Setad, a powerful economic conglomerate mostly focused on charitable causes.

In 2010, the European Union included Mokhber on a list of individuals and entities it was sanctioning for alleged involvement in “nuclear or ballistic missile activities”. Two years later, it removed him from the list.

A council that includes Mokhber, the speaker of parliament, and the head of the judiciary must now arrange an election for a new president within 50 days at the earliest.

 “In accordance with Article 131 of the constitution, Mokhber is in charge of leading the executive branch,” said Khamenei in a statement, adding that Mokhber will be required to work with the heads of legislative and judicial to prepare for presidential elections “within a maximum period of 50 days”._ Tasnim, Al Jazeera