President Ebrahim Raïssi dies in a helicopter accident

It was on a mountainside, located in the northwest of Iran, that the wreckage of the presidential helicopter was spotted early this Monday, May 20. According to emergency services on site, the device was completely destroyed and there were no survivors. Three completely charred bodies were found. They are currently unidentified, but several Iranian media say that they include the remains of ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raïssi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

During the day of Sunday, May 19, the president went to the border with Azerbaijan, in particular to inaugurate a dam. As soon as the plane disappeared, 73 rescue teams were mobilized until the middle of the night to carry out searches in thick fog and rain, weather conditions which would have led to the crash of the plane. The vice-president has temporarily taken over the reins of the country.