A one-day state mourning was observed across India on May 21 as a mark of respect for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash.
Key points
- The Iranian president, the country’s foreign minister and several other officials were found dead on May 20, hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest close to its border with Azerbaijan.
- The incident occurred at around in a remote, mountainous area about 58km (36 miles) south of the Qiz-Qalasi Dam and 2km south-west of the village of Uzi.
- Iranian media identified the crashed helicopter as Bell 212, a model which was developed by a US company for the Canadian military in the 1960s.
- Iran’s first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting President of the Islamic Republic on May 20 after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi.
- According to Iran’s Constitution, the First Vice President takes over in case the President dies or is incapacitated. This is Mohammad Mokhber, who was appointed by President Raisi to the post in August 2021, soon after he assumed the Presidency.
