A helicopter carrying several Iranian dignitaries crashed in the Dizmar forest, not far from the Azeri border. All its passengers and pilots died, including President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The helicopter was an old American model, the Bell 212. It does not appear that it transmitted a distress signal and its transponder was turned off. The phones of its occupants did not allow them to be located. A very loud explosion was heard in the surrounding villages. The security services immediately called in Türkiye, whose Akinci drone helped locate the wreckage, 12 hours after the crash.

The aircraft was part of a convoy of three helicopters. The other two did not suffer any incidents. They did not see the presidential helicopter fall. In principle, the procedure ensures that the members of the government are distributed in different aircraft. However, this was not the case.

This incident comes at a time when Iran is conducting secret negotiations, in Oman on the one hand, and in New York on the other, with a US delegation. In addition, the Israeli leaders, who bombed the Iranian diplomatic premises in Damascus on April 1, assassinating General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, do not cease to present Tehran as public enemy number 1 of international peace. Reacting to the bombing of its consulate and the death of the commander of the Al-Quds Force, Iran attacked Israel on April 13 and 14, showing that it had the capacity of striking targets of its choice with hypersonic missiles without Tel Aviv or its allies having the possibility to intervene. Finally, this crash comes at a time when Iran had moved closer to Azerbaijan, until then Israel’s preserve.

Türkiye foiled an assassination attempt on President Erdogan and a coup d’état, a week before President Raisi’s death.

President Ebrahim Raisi was a personality with a rigid character. Devoted to leader of the Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he strictly applied his instructions. His opponents criticized him for his lack of initiative and his inability to understand the economy Domestically, he had shown great harshness with the women’s movement, but had not
reached the savagery with which he had cracked down against the Communist Party during the Revolution. While externally, he has unconditionally supported the Shiite militias as per the wishes of the guide of the Revolution. Above all, he has made his country join the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as a full member. Finally, he was on the verge of concluding an agreement with the United
States, to the great displeasure of Tel Aviv.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was appreciated by all his interlocutors. He had been able to establish relations with almost all the Arab leaders, whose language he spoke.

Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will serve as interim president until the June 28 presidential election, while Ali Bagheri will serve as acting foreign minister.

It is unclear which candidates will be allowed to run. They can be disqualified for non-conformity with Islam by the 6 theologian members appointed by the Guide of the Revolution to the Council of Guardians of the Constitution. They may also be removed for non-compliance with the Constitution, but this time by the unanimous vote of all 12 members of such Council.

The main potential candidates for the Iranian presidential election are:

• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former President of the Islamic Republic (supporter of the Anti-Imperialist Revolution);
• Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, current Speaker of the Majlis (Parliament) (advocates for the poorest segments of the population);
• Ali Larijani, former Speaker of the Majli (supporter of the Shiite Revolution);
• Mohammad Mokhber, current interim president (supporter of small entrepreneurs);
• Mohsen Rezaï, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Intelligence (unjustly indicted in Argentina for the 1990s attacks in Buenos Aires);
• Hassan Rouhani, former president of the Islamic Republic (supporter for free traders);
• Ali Shamkhani, former head of the Supreme National Security Council (recently fired for having allowed a British spy to penetrate his entourage; he played a central role in the rapprochement with Saudi Arabia).

In all likelihood, Ahmadinejad and Rouhani will not be allowed to compete, for being too independent of the Leader.

Washington immediately denied being involved in the crash. The suspicions that weighed on the United States have now shifted to Israel.

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote: "The tragic death of Ebrahim Raisi is a great loss for the Iranian people, and the Chinese people have also lost a good friend. The Chinese government and people attach great importance to the
traditional friendship between China and Iran and believe that with the joint efforts of the two sides, the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership will continue to consolidate and develop."

In this context, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to strengthen cooperation in the face of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism. Everyone’s survival is
at stake, he added.

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