In a tragic incident, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash due to icy weather and mountainous terrain in East Azerbaijan province, as confirmed by an Iranian official on Monday.

The senior Iranian official, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the situation, revealed that President Raisi, the foreign minister, and all other passengers on board lost their lives in the crash.

Vice President Mohsen Mansouri later confirmed this news through a statement on social media and state television. The passengers also included Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the Friday prayer leader of Tabriz.

The deaths were further confirmed by Iran’s Mehr news agency, which reported that everyone on the helicopter, including the Iranian president and foreign minister, had tragically perished.

According to an Iranian official, the helicopter carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was completely destroyed in the crash that occurred on Sunday.

Although images from the crash site showed the aircraft had collided with a mountain peak, the official cause of the crash has not been determined yet.

State news agency IRNA mentioned that Raisi was traveling in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.

Raisi, who was 63 years old, became president in 2021 and during his tenure, he implemented stricter morality laws, suppressed anti-government protests, and played a significant role in nuclear negotiations with global powers.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final authority over foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear program, reassured the public that there would be no disruption to state affairs following this tragic event.