Iran was plunged into uncertainty on Sunday as search and rescue teams scoured fog-shrouded mountainous terrain after President Ibrahim Raisi's helicopter disappeared in what state media described as an “accident.”
Fears grew for the 63-year-old ultra-conservative after the plane carrying him, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian and others, lost contact in East Azerbaijan province, reports said.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians “not to worry” about the leadership of the Islamic Republic, saying “there will be no disruption in the country's work”.
“We hope that Almighty God will bring our beloved president and his companions back into the lap of the nation in full health,” he said in a nationally televised address, as the Muslim faithful prayed for Raisi's safe return.
Expressions of concern and offers of help came from abroad, including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia and Turkey, as well as from the European Union which activated its rapid response mapping service to aid the search effort.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani expressed “gratitude to governments and international organizations for their sympathy and offer of help in search and rescue operations.”