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Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in the early hours of Monday.
- “With the discovery of the crash site, no signs of life have been detected among the helicopter's passengers,”
- the head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV.
- Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country.
- Video showed a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot in a blizzard.
Several countries had earlier expressed concern and offered assistance.
- The White House said US President Joe Biden had been briefed on reports about the crash.
- China said it was deeply concerned. The European Union offered emergency satellite mapping technology.
HARDLINER, POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR TO KHAMENEI
The crash comes at a time of growing dissent within Iran over an array of political, social and economic crises. Iran's clerical rulers face international pressure over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and its deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Since Iran's ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, provoking Israel's assault on Gaza, conflagrations involving Iran-aligned groups have erupted throughout the Middle East.
In Iran's dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is Raisi's 85-year-old mentor Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, who holds decision-making power on all major policies.
For years many have seen Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi's main policies.
