Iran helicopter crash LIVE: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi killed alongside country’s foreign minister killed after aircraft plummets into mountain range – latest updates

Israel is yet to comment on Ebrahim Raisi’s death but an official has told the Reuters news agency that the country was not involved in the fatal helicopter crash which also killed Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.

“It wasn’t us,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

The cause of the helicopter crash is not yet known but it is understood the aircraft got into difficulty during bad weather as blizzards hampered the search and rescue effort.

Iran and Israel are longtime enemies, with the latter strongly opposing Tehran’s developing nuclear programme,

Iran has backed, funded and trained several proxy group across the Middle East including Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as factions in Iraq and Syria.

China has become the latest country to show support to Iran after Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, expressed condolences in the wake of Ebrahim Raisi’s death.

We can also bring you more reaction from fellow world leaders:

• Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Raisi was a ‘valuable colleague and brother’ who he will remember with ‘respect and gratitude’.
• Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he will always remember Raisi’s visit to Syria in May last year as an ‘important milestone’ for relations between the two countries
• Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Iran had lost an ‘outstanding statesman’ who served ‘elflessly and faithfully all his life’.

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group and proscribed terrorist organisation, has mourned the death of President Raisi (pictured) whom they said had shown support during its war with Israel.

In a statement released following the deaths of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, a Hamas spokesperson said:

These leaders supported the legitimate struggle of our people against the Zionist entity, provided valued support to the Palestinian resistance, and made tireless efforts in solidarity and support in all forums and fields for our people in the steadfast Gaza Strip during the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood.

They also made significant political and diplomatic efforts to stop the Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people.

World leaders have expressed their condolences to Iran following the death of the country’s President Ebrahim Raisi.

Here are statements from the leaders of India, Pakistan and Venezuela.

Footage showing President Raisi on board the helicopter that crashed and killed him has emerged.

Raisi was seen staring out of the window of the aircraft, which was traveling in the East Azerbaijan province near Jolfa, around 375 miles northwest of Tehran when it crashed.

Here’s a map which shows where the helicopter carrying President Raisi crashed killing him and his officials.

The aircraft was taking Raisi from the Azerbaijan border to Tabriz, the capital of the East Azerbaijan Province, when it got into difficulties and plummeted into a mountainous area on Sunday.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed when a helicopter he was travelling in crashed into a mountainous region in north-west Iran on Sunday.

The aircraft got into difficulties in heavy fog as it transported Mr Raisi and his officials to the city of Tabriz.

Here are some photographs of the helicopter crash and the search and rescue effort.

Under the Iranian constitution, Iran´s vice first president takes over if the president dies with Ayatollah Khamenei´s ascent, and a new presidential election would be called within 50 days.

Iranian state media has already reported Mohammad Mokhber, 68 has assumed the role of interim president and has already had begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments.

Mokhber will lead a temporary government alongside the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.

Qalibaf, who campaigned for the Iranian presidency as early as 2005, is expected to be one of the candidates pushing hard to succeed Raisi.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was a hardline cleric who rose from hardline prosecutor to uncompromising president and was tipped one day to succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the country’s Supreme Leader.

Here’s a brief rundown of his life and political career:

• Raisi was born in 1960 to a religious family in Iran’s holy Shi’ite Muslim city of Mashhad. When he was five, he lost his father but followed him in his footsteps to become a cleric.
• As a young student at a religious seminary in the holy city of Qom, Raisi took part in protests against the Western-backed Shah in the 1979 revolution. Later, his contacts with religious leaders in Qom made him a trusted figure in the judiciary.
• Raisi was elected president in a closely controlled vote in 2021, in which he adopted a tough stance in nuclear negotiations.
• His victory brought all branches of power in Iran under the control of hardliners loyal to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, thereby bolstering his chances of succeeding him.
• Raisi has overseen a crackdown on protests at home with his hardline position evident a year into his presidency when he ordered tighter enforcement of Iran’s ‘hijab and chastity law’ restricting women’s dress and behaviour.

If you’re just waking up, here’s everything you need to know this morning:

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead after rescuers found a helicopter carrying him and other officials that crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday
• Raisi, 63, was among nine people to be declared dead alongside Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
• Rescuers fought through blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in the early hours of Monday after a search effort backed by Russia was hampered because of bad weather
• The Iranian government held an ‘urgent meeting’ on Monday, with Raisi’s chair left vacant and covered in a black sash – state broadcasters are airing Islamic prayers in between news broadcasts
• Mohammad Mokhber, 68, Iran’s first vice president, will assume role of interim president and has already taken calls from foreign leaders offering their condolences, state media reported

We will bring you further developments as and when we get them.

Mr Raisi was one of nine people killed when a helicopter crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday.

The 63-year-old was travelling to the city of Tabriz, in the north-west of Iran, after he attended an opening ceremony for a new dam along the country’s border with Azerbaijan.

We will be providing live updates today following confirmation that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (pictured) has been killed in a helicopter crash.

Mr Raisi was on board an aircraft alongside the Iranain foreign minster Hossein Amir-Abdollahian when it crashed into a mountain range on Sunday.

We will bring you the latest news, reaction and analysis to this breaking news story.