Pope Francis has sent a telegram of condolence to Iran following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and others in a helicopter crash on May 19.
The Vatican’s Holy See Press Office released the telegram sent to Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran.
In the message, Pope Francis expressed his sorrow and offered prayers for the deceased, entrusting them to “the mercy of the Almighty.”
He also conveyed his spiritual support to the families of the deceased and to the Iranian nation during this difficult time.
President Ebrahim Raisi’s death, whose helicopter crashed into a fog-shrouded mountain, set off a period of political uncertainty in the Islamic Republic.
Raisi, 63, his foreign minister, and seven others died when the aircraft went down on Sunday in a remote area of northwestern Iran, where the wreckage was only found on Monday morning.
He had been in office since 2021, a turbulent time during which Iran was rocked by mass protests, an economic crisis deepened by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch-enemy Israel.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate power in Iran, declared five days of mourning and said vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, would assume interim presidential duties.
State media reported late on Monday that an election to replace Raisi would be held on June 28.
“The Iranian nation has lost a sincere and valuable servant,” said 85-year-old Khamenei, whom Raisi had been expected by many observers to one day succeed.
Thousands of mourners massed in central Tehran’s Valiasr Square to pay their respects to Raisi and to Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Funeral rites were set to start Tuesday in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province, for them and the other victims — three crew, two bodyguards, an imam, and a provincial governor — before Raisi’s body was to be taken to Tehran.
Khamenei is expected to lead a prayer at a farewell ceremony for Raisi on Tuesday evening ahead of a funeral procession in the capital the following morning. – with reports from AFP.
