JCONLINE.COM TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 3A WERE YOU OR A LOVED ONE AT CAMP LEJEUNE BETWEEN 1953 AND 1987? Deadline To File: August 10, 2024 If been rejected before, your injury may qualify under new criteria. Call before the deadline expires. CALL TODAY TO SEE IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE 765-250-8677 Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, For- eign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other were killed in a heli- copter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border, and state media announced Monday. Mohammad Mokhber, vice president, was appointed acting presi- dent, according to Iran state media. Mokhber appointed Iranian nuclear ne- gotiator Ali Bagheri Kani acting foreign minister.
Iran declared days of pub- lic mourning. Raisi, 63, and Amirabdollahian, 60, were traveling in a convoy of three heli- copters from border with Azerbai- jan in the mountainous north- west to the city of Tabriz after inaugu- rating a joint dam project. The helicop- ter, a U.S.-made Bell 212 model, went down in heavy fog in a remote area Sun- day. The had been missing for over 12 hours as search operations were hindered by the fog, blizzard conditions and terrain through the night. Red Crescent published video footage showing rescue teams recover- ing bodies from the crash site.
Iran has not commented on any in- vestigation into the crash. Some theo- ries, mostly conspiratorial in nature and lacking evidence, have sprung up on so- cial media. a tendency in Iran to blame Israel, its chief regional enemy, whenever there is an unexplained acci- dent or death of a public security or nu- clear in Iran. Tehran has so far been silent on this point. However, Israeli have al- ready been anonymously re- porters there Monday, saying Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mo- hammad Javad Zarif, speaking on state TV, blamed U.S.
sanctions that make aviation replacement parts to obtain in Iran. isolation has long left it with one of the oldest civil-aviation in the world, and it has facilitated a fatal trend in its aviation-safety record. Western manufacturers, under the sanctions, are prohibited from selling planes and even crucial spare parts to Iran. not known is whether the U.S.-made Bell 212 crashed because of lack of access to spare parts or some other technical maintenance issue. The helicopter, which seats about 15, was developed for the Canadian mili- tary in the late 1960s and introduced for civilian use in 1971.
Non-military organi- zations that the Bell 212 include law enforcement agencies and depart- ments in the United States; Coast Guard; national police; and many others. Deaths not expected to upend Iran's domestic or foreign politics The deaths of president and its top diplomat deprive the country of two senior politicians at a time when Iran and the broader region are on edge be- cause of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and recent direct military exchanges between Iran and Israel that risked sparking a wider regional Do- mestically, theocratic govern- ment has been facing anger over corrup- three-person council tasked with orga- nizing next national vote. Condolences pour in from world leaders Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said death was great loss to the Iranian and that China had lost a good friend. Vladimir Putin described Raisi as a friend of and an European Council President Charles Michel said the EU its sincere to the families of all those killed. Saudi King Salman bin Ab- dulaziz, whose country has fought proxy battles against Iran for decades in the region, extended sympa- to the Iranian people.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and leaders of Hezbollah all their condolences, and Syria and Lebanon declared three days of mourn- ing. The White House had no immediate comment on the deaths. Who was Ebrahim Raisi? Raisi ascended to the presidency af- ter heading judiciary. He rose through the ranks to be top legal after working as a pros- ecutor assigned to cases connected to the Iran-Iraq war, which took place from 1980 to 1988. Activists started calling Raisi the of because he was one of four judges who allegedly oversaw the mass execution of thousands of politi- cal prisoners.
Iran has never acknowl- edged these alleged killings, which Hu- man Rights Watch estimates saw 2,800 to 5,000 people executed. deputy prosecutor general of Tehran, Raisi participated in a so-called that ordered the ex- trajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners in the U.S. Treasury Department said in a 2019 sanctions notice. When asked about the killings in 2021, Raisi described himself as a of human Contributing: Reuters tion, its sanctions-hit economy and calls for an end to clerical rule. death comes at a time of raised speculation over who will even- tually replace Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Raisi was viewed as a possible successor to the 85-year-old cleric. Khamenei has the say on all ma- jor policy decisions. However, according to constitution, the vice president takes over if the president is not able to execute his duties because of illness or death. That means that power will be transferred to Mokhber. Mokhber, 68, has been No.
2 since the election in 2021 that handed Raisi the presidency. Mokhber is close to Khamenei, and like Raisi is a politically conservative hardliner when it comes to issues such as violating laws, clamp- downs on protests and nuclear talks with the West. He is a former in Revolutionary Guard Corps and former head of Setad, a powerful eco- nomic organization controlled by Kha- menei. As Mokhber takes over the presiden- cy, new elections must be called within 50 days and Mokhber will be part of a Foreign minister and other also killed Kim Hjelmgaard and John Bacon USA TODAY People holding flowers, candles, and pictures of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attend a vigil to pay tribute to him and other victims who died in a helicopter crash outside the Iranian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday. WILLY president dead in crash.
