- Former minister Zarif blames the United States for Raisi's disappearance.
- The 'decades-old' Bell 212, made in the United States, carried Raisi and other officials.
- Iran will mourn for five days after the death of President Raisi.
As Iran mourns the unfortunate death of its president, Ebrahim Raisi, potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a helicopter crash on Sunday, the state agency Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) It has been reported that the helicopter has faced an accident due to “technical failure”.
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Tabriz city Friday prayer leader Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem and others, including pilots and crew, were also killed when the ill-fated plane crashed into a mountainous terrain in bad weather on their way back from East Azerbaijan. province.
All passengers, including Raisi, were pronounced dead when the charred remains of the Bell 212 helicopter were found early Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.
President Raisi's funeral procession will take place on Tuesday in Tehran.
Khamenei, who holds supreme power and has the final say on Iran's foreign policy and nuclear program, announced a five-day period of mourning and named Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, as acting president and ordered him to ensure the election of a new president in 50 years. days, according to the country's constitution.
Although the collapse came at a time of growing dissent within Iran over a series of political, social and economic crises, with Iran's clerical rulers facing international pressure over Tehran's disputed nuclear program and rising tensions with Israel in the context of the war in Gaza, any indication Iranian state television ruled out that a crime had been committed.
However, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed the United States for Raisi's death and “his entourage due to its sanctions on the country's aviation industry.”
“The Iranian nation has faced great events in these 45 years and, according to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, they will overcome this tragic event,” state television quoted Zarif as saying.
In addition to other factors pointed out by the Iranian politician, the “cruel sanctions” against the Islamic State were part of the difficult conditions that Iran had faced and successfully overcome.
The American-made Bell 212, carried by a 63-year-old leader, is believed to have been decades old. According to the Washington PostThe aircraft is a widely used civilian version of the Vietnam-era military Huey helicopter, operated by armed forces and companies around the world.
Iran was also a major buyer of Bell helicopters under the U.S.-backed regime before the 1979 Islamic revolution, but decades of sanctions made it difficult for the nation to obtain parts or upgrade its planes.
A Al Jazeera The report says that the Iranian economy has struggled and especially its aviation sector has been affected due to the inability to purchase new aircraft or parts under sanctions. It is pertinent to mention an increase in fatal air accidents in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
— Additional contributions from Reuters
