The bodies of Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were found on Monday May 20 after the crash of their helicopter the day before, the Associated Press (AP) agency confirmed. This disappearance comes during an extremely tense period in the Middle East, in the midst of war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, supported by Iran. In order to better try to understand the challenges of this situation, Planet offers you a summary overview of the main elements to take into account in the slideshow below.
The accident occurred in the north of the country, in a particularly mountainous and foggy region. The president and the foreign minister were returning from an official trip to the border with Azerbaijan. Seven other people died during this trip, including the governor of the province visited, an imam, the head of the president’s security, a bodyguard of the president and members of the crew, indicates CNN. The American media pointed out the obsolescence of the aircraft. However, no information had yet filtered through, at the time of publication of this article, on the possible causes of this air crash.
Shortly after the official confirmation of the death, Supreme Leader (Ayatollah) Ali Khamenei appointed an interim successor as head of state. This is Mohammad Mokhber, until then first Iranian vice-president. He will lead the country until elections are held at the end of June (details on his journey and this election in the slideshow below).