Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was considered a potential successor to the supreme leader, died in a helicopter crash in northern Iran, state media reported on Monday. He was 63.
The tragic incident occurred amidst heightened tensions in the Middle East, particularly due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Last month, under the directive of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi had overseen an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel, further escalating regional unrest.
Social media buzzed with speculation following the news of the crash. On the microblogging platform ‘X’, the hashtag #Mossad trended as netizens speculated that the Israeli intelligence agency was behind the mishap. One user commented, “It’s never an accident,” reflecting widespread suspicions.
President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan when the helicopter crashed. He had been in Azerbaijan earlier on May 19 to inaugurate the dam alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. Raisi’s death was confirmed in a statement by Vice President Mohsen Mansouri and on state television, according to Reuters.
The helicopter crash follows recent escalations in the region. Iran had launched a deluge of drones and missiles on Israel in response to a suspected Israeli strike that killed top Iranian officials in Syria, deepening the conflict between the two countries.
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Washington (AP): The US president said his threat to impose 50% tariffs on goods from countries that sold weapons to Iran was aimed at China.
Trump told Fox News' “Sunday Morning Futures” that has heard reports of China giving anti-aircraft “shoulder missiles” to Iran. He played down the possibility of China supplying weapons to Iran, but said their goods would be taxed if they did.
“I doubt they would do that, because I have a relationship, and I think they wouldn't do that, but maybe they did a little bit at the beginning,” Trump said. “But if we catch them doing that, they get a 50% tariff.”
