Helicopter lost contact 30 minutes post the take off

Modi offered condolences to Raisi's family

Raisi first ran for President in 2017

Iran’s President Ebraham Raisi who was considered to be the successor to the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in a tragic helicopter crash in the East Azerbaijan region of the country. The flight carrying President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials disappeared across a mountainous terrain after it had lost contact 30 minutes post the take off. 

Raisi first ran for President in 2017. He was reelected to the position in 2021. He held several key positions and was also known to have friendly relations with the military and legislative bodies in the country. “Deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the people of Iran. India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow,” PM Modi expressed on X. 

Deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the people of Iran.…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2024

There are speculations that the incident is related to the growing tension in the middle east. Raisi was staunchly in favour of Palestinian rights. There was also an attack launched by Iran in Israel after an Iranian embassy was a target of Israeli air strikes. There is however no concrete evidence currently to indicate any such assassination plan.

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