(Tehran) Iran declared five days of mourning on Monday to pay tribute to its president, Ebrahim Raïssi, who died in a helicopter accident three years after the coming to power of this ultraconservative who was considered one of the favorites to succeed the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
The death of Mr. Raïssi at 63 opens a period of political uncertainty in Iran, at a time when the Middle East is shaken by the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, an ally of the Islamic Republic.
His sudden death will lead to a presidential election by universal suffrage which must be organized “within 50 days”, i.e. by 1er July.
PHOTO AZIN HAGHIGHI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Rescue team members found the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan, northwest Iran, on May 20.
In the meantime, it is the first vice-president Mohammad Mokhber, a 68-year-old shadowy man, who will assume the functions of interim president.
At this stage, no name has emerged as a candidate for the presidential election, which will take place four months before the presidential election in the United States, the main enemy of the Islamic Republic along with Israel.
Elected president in 2021, Ebrahim Raïssi was considered one of the favorites to succeed the Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, aged 85.
“The Iranian nation has lost a sincere and valuable servant,” the head of state said in a statement. Stressing that “his troubles due to the ingratitude and the taunts of certain villains did not prevent him from working day and night”.
The government paid tribute to the “hard-working and tireless president of the Iranian people” who “sacrificed his life for the nation.”
The announcement of his death was made early in the morning by news agencies and news sites after the wreckage of the helicopter was discovered at dawn. State television also broadcast religious songs and showed photos of the president.
The president’s helicopter disappeared early Sunday afternoon while flying over a steep and forested region of Iran in difficult weather conditions, with rain and thick fog.
” Big loss ”
The prospect of discovering the president and the eight other passengers alive had gradually diminished during the night.
Among them was Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, 60, appointed head of diplomacy by Mr. Raisi in July 2021. Also present were the governor of the province of East Azerbaijan, the main imam of the region, as well as the head security of the president and three crew members.
PHOTO ANGELA WEISS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also died in the crash.
Emergency services recovered the remains of the nine passengers scattered among the debris of the plane, a Bell 212, on Monday morning. They were transported to Tabriz, the large city in the northwest, where funeral ceremonies will begin on Tuesday.
The wreckage of the helicopter was discovered at dawn on the side of a mountain which it hit for a still unknown reason, according to media reports. He took off in difficult weather conditions, with rain and thick fog.
Many leaders, including some from countries with lukewarm relations with Tehran, sent messages of condolences.
Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to a “remarkable politician” and a “true friend” of Russia. His death is a “great loss for the Iranian people”, greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“No disruption”
Mr. Raïssi, who had the title of ayatollah, had presided over the Islamic Republic for almost three years.
Considered an ultraconservative, he was elected on June 18, 2021 in the first round of a vote marked by a record abstention for a presidential election and the absence of strong competitors.
Always wearing his black turban and wearing a long religious cloak, he succeeded the moderate Hassan Rouhani, who beat him in the 2017 presidential election.
PHOTO VAHID SALEMI, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
President Ebrahim Raïssi
He was supported by the main authority of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Sunday called on “the Iranian people” to “not worry” because “there will be no disruption in the administration of the country “.
Latest pro-Palestinian message
Raisi visited the province of Eastern Azerbaijan on Sunday, where he notably inaugurated a dam in the company of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, on the border between the two countries.
PHOTO IRANIAN PRESIDENCY VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev inaugurated a roadblock on the border between the two countries on May 19.
During a joint press conference, he once again supported Hamas against Israel. “We believe that Palestine is the first issue of the Muslim world,” he said.
In a message of condolences, Hamas welcomed “support for the Palestinian resistance”.
Iran launched an unprecedented attack on April 13 against Israel, with 350 drones and missiles, most of which were intercepted with the help of the United States and several other allied countries.
Mr. Raïssi emerged strengthened from the legislative elections held in March, the first national election since the protest movement which shook Iran at the end of 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for non-compliance with the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic.
Born in November 1960, Raïssi spent most of his career in the judicial system, notably being prosecutor general of Tehran then prosecutor general of the country, positions where his reputation for firmness towards the “enemies” of the country was built. Islamic Republic.
Mr. Raïssi was on the American blacklist of Iranian officials sanctioned by Washington for “complicity in serious human rights violations”, accusations dismissed as null and void by Tehran.