Qatar’s Amir expressed condolences to Iran following the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of President Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials, with global leaders and allies offering sympathy and support.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani expressed on Monday his condolences to the government and people of Iran following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials in a tragic helicopter crash on Sunday.
“Sincere condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian, and the accompanying officials in the painful helicopter accident, asking God Almighty for mercy and forgiveness for them and for their families with patience and solace. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return,” the Qatari leader said on his X platform.
Raisi along with Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, East Azerbaijan Imam of Friday Prayer Mohammed Ali Ale-Hashem and several other passengers died in the helicopter crash in northwest Iran, it was announced on Monday.
According to local media, Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz, in the northwest of Iran, after returning from the border with Azerbaijan, where he opened the Qiz Qalasi and Khodaafarin dams.
Rescuers from the Iranian Red Crescent battled to look for the officials through the dense fog, blizzards and mountainous terrain to reach the site of the crash in the East Azerbaijan province.
Footage showing worshippers praying for the president’s health in the holy city of Mashhad emerged on state television earlier.
Under the Iranian Constitution, if a president is confirmed dead, Iran’s first vice president will take over and a new presidential election would be called within 50 days.
First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber already had begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments in Raisi’s absence, state media reported.
The Iranian government will continue to operate “without the slightest disruption”, a cabinet statement announced on Monday.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier reassured Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Qatar Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani dedicated the start of his speech at the Global Security Forum to the deceased Iranian president and foreign minister by offering his condolences to Iran.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia were quick to offer their help in rescue efforts to find the crashed helicopter.
Lebanon on Monday announced three days of national mourning for the Iranian president and foreign minister, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared a day of mourning.
A close ally of Iran, Russia, spoke on the death of Raisi, with President Vladimir Putin saying: “Seyed Ebrahim Raisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was devoted to serving the Motherland.
“As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good neighbourly relations between our countries and made great efforts to bring them to the level of strategic partnership.”
Also, a close friend of Iran, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, wrote: ” […] Deeply saddened to have to say goodbye to an exemplary person, an extraordinary leader of the world as our brother Ebrahim is, and will always be, an excellent human being, defender of the sovereignty of his people and unconditional friend of our country.
“From Bolivarian lands, we express our deepest condolences to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and wish for divine consolation for such a sensitive loss. We join the feelings of his family and our Iranian brothers and sisters in these difficult moments.”
