What we know:
- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash, state media reported today.
- The cause of Sunday's crash was unclear. Iranian officials said fog and bad weather in the area slowed rescuers' response.
- Early Monday local time, state-affiliated media reported that the exact location of the helicopter had been found. State media later reported that there was no sign of life.
- President Raisi was returning with a government delegation that had attended the inauguration of a dam on the border with Azerbaijan. There were no survivors among the nine people on board, who also included Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
- First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has been named interim president, while Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani will serve as acting foreign minister, state media reported.
A public funeral is planned for Raisi on Wednesday in Tehran
Iran announced a holiday on Wednesday for Raisi's public funeral, which will be held in Tehran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, declared a five-day mourning period for Raisi and others who were killed in yesterday's helicopter crash.
Raisi will be buried on Friday in Mashhad, the city where he was born and home of the shrine of Imam Reza. Mashhad is a city of religious significance among Shia Muslims and many make a pilgrimage to the shrine.
Analysis: Raisi's death could provide Revolutionary Guard with an opportunity
There are tensions in Iran right now between the priestly clerics and the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is responsible for enforcing the principles of the 1979 revolution.
Raisi’s death could possibly provide the security services with an opportunity to line up a successor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in an helicopter crash Sunday, was seemingly in prime position to succeed Khamenei. Now it’s less clear, so there could be an opportunity for the security establishment to put their man in charge.
The situation is similar to that in post-Soviet Russia when Boris Yeltsin was president and a relatively unknown apparatchik named Vladimir Putin rose to power.
The U.S. State Department offers condolences and says Biden's approach to Iran is unchanged
WASHINGTON — The State Department issued a statement offering condolences to the Iranian government over yesterday's helicopter crash, though a spokesperson said the U.S. approach to Iran is not swayed by the deaths of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian.
"As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms," the statement said.
A spokesperson for the department also said that President Biden's approach to handling the Iranian regime remains unchanged.
"We will continue to confront the Iranian regime’s support for terrorism, proliferation of dangerous weapons, and advancement of its nuclear program in ways that have no credible civilian purpose," the spokesperson said.
Turkey's president offers condolences to Iran's acting president
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences today over the deaths of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian in a call with Iran's vice president, who is now acting president.
According to a readout from Erdogan's office, the president expressed his sadness over the accident to Iran's Mohammad Mokhber. He also said that both men's contributions to relations between Iran and Turkey "will always be remembered."
"Türkiye stands with the Iranian people during these painful days and shares the grief of the Iranian people," Erdoğan said, adding that Turkey "will continue to carry out what its neighborhood and brotherhood with Iran require."
Turkish drone drew crescent and star after leaving Iran
Turkey sent drones to assist in the search for Raisi — and on the way back to its base, one of the drones used its flight map to draw a crescent and a star, the symbols on the Turkish flag.
AA, the Turkish state-run news agency, reported that hundreds of thousands of people watched the drone's route on FlightRadar24, a flight tracking service.
Anti-regime crowd gathers outside Iran's embassy in London
LONDON — Hours after the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was announced, several dozen people gathered across the road from Iran’s embassy in London this afternoon, waving anti-regime flags, playing loud music and shouting slogans against the Islamic Republic’s rulers into loudspeakers.
It follows a small gathering in the same spot last night, when people were seen celebrating the news of a helicopter crash involving Raisi. Videos on social media verified by NBC News show people drinking and dancing across from the embassy’s building Sunday evening.
Moalemi said she escaped from Iran in 1988 during the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners that Raisi is accused of overseeing, and has lost friends and family to the regime.
Zohreh Moalemi, 63, was among those demonstrating in front of the embassy today.
Reports of Raisi’s death brought “lots of joy and happiness” to people in Iran, she said, adding, “Everyone has been waiting for this moment to hear that he is dead.”
She said that, for her personally, his death is not about revenge and she would have preferred to see Raisi tried in court.
“Until the day that we see the regime change completely, it would not be a complete relief,” Moalemi said. “We are waiting for that time, but of course we can’t say that we are not happy.”
Analysis: Iranian policy unlikely to change with Raisi's death
Iran is a theocracy, and although it holds elections, candidates are vetted and many are barred from running. Even former two-term President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was disqualified from the last election in 2021.
The real power lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ayatollah means “shadow of God on earth,” so everyone from the president down follows his lead.
As a result, it is unlikely that Iranian policy will change.
Three principles have essentially guided the country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Internally, maintaining the principles of that revolution remains at the forefront of political thinking.
Tehran does not officially recognize Israel’s existence and has long championed the Palestinian cause, so that is also unlikely to change.
Red Crescent workers carry covered body on a stretcher
Video footage from Iran’s official news agency showed Red Crescent workers carrying a covered body on a stretcher through a forested area.
NBC News cannot independently verify the footage, which was published following a helicopter crash in which President Ebrahim Raisi and eight others were killed.
No evidence of foul play in chopper crash: administration official
A senior administration official agrees with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s comments yesterday that there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of foul play in the helicopter crash that killed Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and a handful of other officials.
“No foreign involvement at all,” this official said.
However, the Biden administration is monitoring the situation closely and watching reports of any Iranian officials trying to blame the U.S. or Israel for the Iranian president’s death.
“They already have,” this official said, noting claims by Iran’s former foreign minister on state TV today that U.S. sanctions were to blame for the lack of replacement helicopter parts in the country.
“It’s ridiculous,” the official said.
As for whether the death of Iran’s president and foreign minister would have any impact on U.S-Iran relations: “We’re not anticipating any significant sea change here.”
President Biden is expected to return to the White House early this afternoon.
Raisi's death a 'monumental' blow to supreme leader, opposition group says
President Ebrahim Raisi’s death is “a monumental and irreparable strategic blow” to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, and could create a crisis for the theocratic regime, according to a leading opposition group.
“It will trigger a series of repercussions and crises within theocratic tyranny, which will spur rebellious youths into action,” Maryam Rajavi, an Iranian dissident politician and president-elect of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, said in a statement.
“The curse of mothers and those seeking justice for the executed, along with the damnation of the Iranian people and history, mark the legacy of Ebrahim Raisi, the notorious perpetrator of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners,” she added.