Iranian President Sayyed Ebrahim Raeisi and his companions have been confirmed to be dead due to the Sunday helicopter crash in northeast Iran.

Rescue teams at the site of the crash have confirmed the death of all passengers and crew of the helicopter that crashed to the mountains in East Azarbaijan Province.
 
Following the tragic incident, Mohammad Mokhber has taken charge as the interim president.
 
Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Andollahian and Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem were also on board the helicopter.
 
The chopper that was transporting President Raeisi and his companions encountered some difficulties and was forced to make a "hard landing".

The incident happened in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azerbaijan province. 

President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
 
Ayatollah Sayyed Ebrahim Raeisi, aged 64, was the eighth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
 
Born in the holy city of Mashhad, he served as the head of judiciary, deputy chief justice, attorney general, prosecutor and deputy prosecutor of Tehran.
 
He had also served as the custodian and chairman of Astan Quds Razavi as well as a member of the Assembly of Experts from South Khorasan Province.
 
Raeisi ran for president for the second time in 2021 having lost the race to former president Hassan Rouhani in 2017.