Iranian President and foreign minister found dead at helicopter crash site

Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, will serve as the country’s acting President until elections are held

Rescue teams' vehicles are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran. Picture: Azin Haghighi, Moj News Agency via AP

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and several other officials have been found dead, hours after their helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country’s north-west, state media reported.

The crash comes as the Middle East remains unsettled by the Israel-Hamas war, during which 63-year-old Mr Raisi, under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel just last month.