Iran will keep playing a constructive and effective role in regional and international relations thanks to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei even after the death of Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"Dear Iran lost 'a popular, competent and hard-working president' and a 'studious and active foreign minister' in the recent tragic incident, but in the shadow of a wise Leader and a great, appreciative and awake nation, there will be no disruption in the Islamic Republic of Iran's growing movement and its constructive and effective role in the regional and international interactions," ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on X.
Last week, Raisi went to Azerbaijan to participate in the opening ceremony of the Giz Galasi dam and the commissioning of the Khudafarin dam on the joint border. Raisi's helicopter crash-landed on its way back to Iran, leaving the president and his delegation, which included Amirabdollahian, dead. Iranian authorities said the accident took place in a remote mountainous region due to poor weather conditions and thick fog.
Under the Iranian constitution, an early presidential election must be held within 50 days after the incumbent president is pronounced dead or incapacitated, and his powers are transferred to the first vice president. Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is currently serving as acting head of state.