The President of Iran has died in a helicopter crash. 

Ebrahim Raisi was travelling alongside his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian, the Governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, civil servants and body guards. 

In a statement, Iranian news agency Mehr said, “all passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian President and Foreign Minister were martyred”.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assured Iranians that, “No disruption will occur in Iran’s state affairs.”

On Sunday evening, Iran’s mountainous north-west was engulfed by fog and fears for the President’s safety grew when contact with the helicopter was lost. 

Travelling by air has long been a risky activity in Iran, whose aviation industry has long suffered due to western sanctions. 

It is thought the President’s helicopter dated back to before the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Main image: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Picture by: Alamy.com