The Latest | Iran’s president, foreign minister and others are found dead at helicopter crash site

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and others have been found dead at the site of a helicopter crash after an hours long search through a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, state media reported.

State TV gave no immediate cause for the crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. With Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Turkish authorities early Monday released what they described as drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they “suspected to be wreckage of a helicopter.” The coordinates listed in the footage put the fire some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the side of a steep mountain.

Footage released by IRNA early Monday showed what the agency described as the crash site, across a steep valley in a green mountain range. Soldiers speaking in the local Azeri language said: “There it is, we found it.” Shortly after, state TV in an on-screen scrolling text said: “There is no sign of life from people on board.”

Currently:

— Iran’s president, foreign minister and others found dead at helicopter crash site, state media says

— Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, supreme leader’s protégé, dies at 63 in helicopter crash

— Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, a hard-line diplomat, dies in helicopter crash

— Helicopter crash that killed Iran’s president and others could reverberate across the Middle East

Follow AP’s coverage of Iran: https://apnews.com/hub/iran

Here’s the latest:CHINA’S XI EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO IRAN

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed deep condolences on Monday over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to the Foreign Ministry.

“His unfortunate death is a huge loss to the Iranian people, and also caused China to lose a good friend,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a daily news briefing.

Xi also praised Raisi’s “important contributions to safeguarding Iran’s security and stability” and for “positive efforts” on China-Iran relations.

Wang also expressed condolences over the death of Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and said China would continue to provide necessary assistance and support to Iran.IRAN’S FIRST VICE PRESIDENT APPOINTED PRESIDENT BY SUPREME LEADER

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader has appointed First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as country’s acting president after a helicopter crash killed President Ebrahim Raisi.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement in a condolence message he shared for Raisi’s death in the crash Sunday. The helicopter was found Monday in northwestern Iran.

Khamenei also announced five days of mourning in the message.AFGHANISTAN’S TALIBAN MOURN RAISI

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Monday said they were deeply saddened by the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister in a helicopter crash.

“We share our grief with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the people of that country and offer our condolences to all the families of the victims, the nation and the government of Iran,” the Taliban prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, said in a statement.TURKEY’S ERDOGAN SAYS HE REMEMBERS RAISI ‘WITH RESPECT AND GRATITUDE’

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed his condolences to the Iranian people and government over the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other officials in a helicopter crash.

Erdogan said in a statement posted on social platform X that he remembers Raisi “with respect and gratitude” and praised his “efforts for the peace of the Iranian people and our region during his time in office.”

Turkish authorities dispatched a drone late on Sunday to help locate the wreckage and early on Monday released footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they “suspected to be the wreckage of a helicopter.”RUSSIA’S PUTIN CALLS RAISI’S DEATH AN ‘IRREPARABLE LOSS’

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday extended his “deep condolences” to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling the deaths of the country’s president and other officials a “huge tragedy” and “a difficult, irreparable loss.”

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin, was “an outstanding politician whose entire life was devoted to serving the Motherland.”

“He rightfully enjoyed high respect from his compatriots and significant authority abroad. As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good neighborly relations between our countries and made great efforts to bring them to the level of strategic partnership,” the Russian president said.

Putin said that he had met Raisi several times and “will forever retain the fondest memory of this wonderful man.”LEBANON DECLARES 3 DAYS OF MOURNING OVER RAISI’S DEATH

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati declared three days of mourning in the country in response to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, with flags at official institutions to be flown at half-staff.

Lebanon’s political factions are deeply divided between those in support of Iran and its protege, Hezbollah, and those opposed to Iranian influence in the country.SYRIA’S ASSAD PRAISES LATE IRANIAN PRESIDENT’S ‘VISIONS AND IDEAS’

BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad sent his condolences to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the deaths of the country’s president and foreign minister and their accompanying delegation. Iran’s intervention in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Assad’s embattled government helped to keep the Syrian president in power.

“We worked with the late president (Raisi) to ensure that the strategic relations between Syria and Iran remain prosperous always, and we will always remember his visit to Syria as an important milestone in this path, and all the visions and ideas that he presented to enrich relations with everything that benefits the Syrian and Iranian peoples,” Assad’s office said in a statement.AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT: RAISI WAS ‘AN OUTSTANDING STATESMAN’

MOSCOW — Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev extended condolences to Iran’s supreme leader, saying in a statement that he and his government were “deeply shocked by the heavy loss that befell the brotherly and friendly Islamic Republic of Iran and its people.”

In Raisi “the people of Iran have lost an outstanding statesman who served his country selflessly and faithfully all his life. The bright memory of him will always live in our hearts,” Aliyev said.HEZBOLLAH MOURNS IRANIAN PRESIDENT’S DEATH, CALLING HIM ‘A BIG BROTHER TO US’

BEIRUT — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has received substantial backing from Iran and is a senior member of its regional “axis of resistance,” mourned the deaths of the Iranian president and foreign minister in a statement.

It described Raisi as “a big brother to us, a strong supporter, and a staunch defender of our issues and the Arab nations’ issues, most notably Jerusalem and Palestine, and a protector of the resistance movements and those fighting on their behalf in all the positions of responsibility he held.”EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT CALLS RAISI’S DEATH A ‘GREAT LOSS’

CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has mourned the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other senior officials in a helicopter crash. In a statement, el-Sissi expressed his country’s solidarity with “the leadership and people of Iran in this great loss.”IRAN’S CABINET HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING AFTER DEATH OF PRESIDENT

TEHRAN — Iran’s Cabinet held an emergency meeting as state media announced the death of President Ebrahim Raisi.

The Cabinet offered its condolences, saying in a statement that he made the ultimate sacrifice in serving his country, according to a report by the state-run IRNA news agency. The report was accompanied by a photo of Raisi’s chair draped in black, his photo on the desk.

“We assure our loyal and appreciative and beloved nation that the path of service will continue with the tireless spirit of Ayatollah Raisi, the hero and the servant of the nation and the faithful friend of the leadership,” the Cabinet said in a statement carried by IRNA.PAKISTAN ANNOUNCES DAY OF MOURNING AFTER IRANIAN HELICOPTER CRASH

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a day of mourning over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

“I along with the government and people of Pakistan extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the Iranian nation on this terrible loss. May the martyred souls rest in heavenly peace. The great Iranian nation will overcome this tragedy with customary courage,” Sharif wrote on the social platform X on Monday.

Sharif recently hosted Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian when they visited Pakistan and said: “They were good friends of Pakistan.”

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari in a statement also expressed shock and sorrow over Raisi’s death. He extended his condolences to the bereaved families of the Iranian president, the foreign minister and others who died in the accident.INDIAN PM MODI EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO IRAN

NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s death, and sent his condolences to Raisi’s family and the people of Iran.

“India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow,” Modi said in a post on social platform X on Monday.IRAQI PRIME MINISTER SAYS ‘GREAT SADNESS AND GREAT SORROW’ AFTER DEADLY HELICOPTER CRASH IN IRAN

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whose government coalition is close to Tehran, expressed “great sadness and great sorrow” in a statement on Monday after the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others in a helicopter crash.

He also extended “sincere condolences” to Iran’s supreme leader and government and “solidarity with the brotherly Iranian people.”HOUTHI LEADER IN YEMEN MOURNS IRANIAN PRESIDENT’S DEATH

CAIRO — A Houthi leader in Yemen on Monday mourned the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other senior officials who were killed in a helicopter crash.

“Our deepest condolences to the Iranian people and the Iranian leadership and to the families of the president and the accompanying delegation,” Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Committees. “The Iranian people will continue to have leaders loyal to their people, God willing.”

Iran is the main backer of the Houthis in their yearslong war against Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.IRAN’S PRESIDENT, FOREIGN MINISTER AND OTHERS FOUND DEAD AT HELICOPTER CRASH SITE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and others have been found dead at the site of a helicopter crash after an hourslong search through a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, state media reported.

State TV gave no immediate cause for the crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. With Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Turkish authorities early Monday released what they described as drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they “suspected to be wreckage of a helicopter.” The coordinates listed in the footage put the fire some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the side of a steep mountain.

Footage released by the IRNA early Monday showed what the agency described as the crash site, across a steep valley in a green mountain range. Soldiers speaking in the local Azeri language said: “There it is, we found it.”

Shortly after, state TV in an on-screen scrolling text said: “There is no sign of life from people on board.” It did not elaborate, but the semiofficial Tasnim news agency showed rescuers using a small drone to fly over the site, with them speaking among themselves saying the same thing.

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