This morning, Iran's president and several other leaders have been
found dead at this helicopter crash site.
President Ibrahim Raisi, Iran's foreign minister,
and seven others were aboard the aircraft.
Drone video shows the site on a steep,
wooded hillside, little of the aircraft remaining beyond its blue
and white tail.
Racy, seen here in the helicopter on Sunday,
traveling to the Iranian border with Azerbaijan for an event.
Heavy fog blanketed the area of northwest Iran,
making it difficult for search and rescue teams to locate
the aircraft.
After a more than 12 hour search,
drones provided by Turkey using thermal cameras pinpointed the crash
site overnight.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying there was no evidence
of foul play.
Looks like an accident. There was very bad foggy weather
in northwest Iran where the copter crashed.
Elected in 2021, President Raisi was a hardliner and the
second most powerful figure in Iran.
He was seen as a top contender for replacing Ayatollah
Khomeini,
who vows after the crash there will be no disruption
to state affairs.
But just weeks after Iran and Israel launched unprecedented strikes
on each other,
experts are questioning how a transition of power in Iran
could affect a region already in turmoil.
Nuclear issue is part of them.
The regional peace and conditions are part of them.
These are all going to be political,
politically relevant issues in in the years to come.
Iran's constitution mandates a new president must be elected within
the next 50 days.