External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday expressed shock at news of the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash.
In a post on X, the EAM said he recalls his several meetings with the two Iranian leaders, and most recently in January 2024.
He expressed his condolences to their families and said India stands with the people of Iran at the time of this tragedy.
“Deeply shocked to hear of the passing away of Iran’s President Dr Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister H. Amir-Abdollahian in the helicopter crash.
Recall my many meetings with them, most recently in January 2024.
Our condolences to their families. We stand with the people of Iran at time of this tragedy,” the EAM posted.
Earlier, Mehr News Agency reported that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have died in a helicopter crash that occurred on Sunday.
The helicopter carrying President Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed in a dense forest area in the Iranian province of East Azarbaijan on Sunday.
The helicopter’s passengers included Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to East Azarbaijan province, along with several other people.
President Raisi had travelled to East Azarbaijan province early on Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Ilham Aliyev, the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The accident occurred during his return journey as a result of dense fog in the region.
