Yesterday (Sunday, May 19), a helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, crashed near the village of Uzi in the Arasbaran forests.

The passengers of this flight included Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the foreign minister of Iran, Ayatollah Ale-Hashem, the Imam for Friday prayer of Tabriz, Malek Rahmati, governor-general of East Azerbaijan, Sardar Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, Iranian commander of the president's protection unit, a member of the Ansar al-Mahdi Corps, the pilot and co-pilot, and a technical officer.

After this incident, Russia and Turkey sent rescue teams to locate Raisi's helicopter; however, the rescue operation took more than 10 hours.

Following the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian media outlets reported that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, with the "approval of the leadership, will assume [Ebrahim Raisi] duties and responsibilities."

According to "Article 131" of the Iranian Constitution, Mokhber will be responsible for the executive affairs of the country.

On August 15, 1980, a helicopter carrying Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran's first president, crashed during a visit to the border areas in Kermanshah near Islamabad West; however, the passengers survived.