Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced on Monday five days of mourning for President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash.
“I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran,” said Khamenei in an official statement a day after the death of Raisi and other officials in the crash in East Azerbaijan province.
Condolences flooded in from Palestinian militant group Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and from Syria, all members of the so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel and its allies, at a time of high Middle East tensions over the Gaza war.
Khamenei had urged Iranians Sunday, as the search was still ongoing, to “not worry” about the leadership of the Islamic republic, saying “there will be no disruption in the country’s work”.
Killed alongside Raisi were Foreign Minster Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, known for his fierce anti-Israel sentiment and scepticism of the West, and seven others, including the pilot, bodyguards and political and religious officials.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was appointed as acting foreign minister, government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said on state television.
A black flag was hoisted as a sign of mourning at a major Shiite shrine in city of Qom, south of Tehran.
Pakistan Mourns
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared a day of mourning after Raisi’s death.
“Pakistan will observe a day of mourning and the flag will fly at half mast as a mark of respect for President Raisi and his companions and in solidarity with Brotherly Iran,” Shehbaz posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“I along with the government and people of Pakistan extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the Iranian nation on this terrible loss,” he added.
“The great Iranian nation will overcome this tragedy with customary courage.”
The Pakistani leader hosted Raisi in Islamabad for a three-day visit in April in a bid to mend ties between the neighbours after they traded deadly strikes earlier this year.
AFP