The Ghanaian Minaret

Tehran, Iran: The head of the Islamic Republic Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has announced that the dead bodies of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions are being transported to Tabriz, northwest Iran.

The helicopter carrying President Raisi and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest of the Varzaqan region in the northwest province of East Azarbaijan Province, claiming the lives of all on board, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

Search and rescue teams scoured the mountainous terrain in heavy fog overnight and found the wreckage early on Monday.

The large-scale search and rescue operation ended as the dead bodies were sent to a place in East Azarbaijan province where the martyrs of Tabriz are buried, Pir Hossein Kolivand said in televised remarks on Monday.

Elaborating on the latest situation of the search and rescue operation, Kolivand said the IRCS expert teams were present in the area as of yesterday, but the bad weather and the heavy fog hindered the search process.

Finally, early on Monday, the rescue teams managed to find the scene of the incident, the official added.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Iranian cabinet noted that the popular president of Iran, Ayatollah Raisi, has been martyred on the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam.

He was to return to Tehran from Tabriz, where he attended an opening ceremony on a joint Iran-Azerbaijan dam project.

After the sad incident, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guardian Council spokesman, Hadi Tahan Nazif, announced that, according to the Constitution, the vice president will take over as interim president with the Supreme Leader’s approval.

Tahan Nazif said in an interview on Monday that, with the Supreme Leader’s approval, a council consisting of the Iranian judiciary chief, parliament speaker, and vice president will take measures to hold elections within 50 days.

He said that, as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said, “The Iranian nation shouldn’t be worried. There will be no disruption to the operations of the country.”

According to Article 131 of the Constitution of Iran, in case of death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness lasting longer than two months of the president, or when his term in office has ended and a new president has not been elected due to some impediments or similar other circumstances, his vice president shall assume, with the approval of the leader, the powers and functions of the president.

In the event of the death of the vice president or other matters that prevent him from performing his duties, or when the president does not have a vice president, the Supreme Leader shall appoint another person in his place.

-IRNA