Iran's powerful allies on Monday mourned the death of its President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, while regional militants hailed him as a supporter of the Palestinian cause. The United States expressed its condolences but said the deceased ultraconservative leader "had blood on his hands", Russia and China called him a "friend", and Iran's arch-foe Israel slammed the United Nations Security Council's decision to hold a minute of silence in a mark of respect. Read the live blog to see how events developed.
Summary:
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The State Department said Iran reached out for US help after Raisi's ageing chopper crashed in foggy weather on Sunday. "We were asked by the Iranian government for assistance," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. "Ultimately, largely for logistical reasons, we were unable to provide that assistance."
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday appointed the country's Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as acting president after President Ebrahim Raisi was confirmed dead in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a hard-liner close to the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also died in the crash.
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Iranian authorities announced that a funeral for Raisi will take place Tuesday in the northwestern city of Tabriz, with a funeral procession the following day in Tehran.
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Iran's military chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri has ordered a probe into the cause of the president's helicopter crash, the ISNA news agency reported.
