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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister have been killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather, state media has reported, after search teams located the wreckage.
"President Raisi, the foreign minister and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash," a senior Iranian official also told Reuters, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Mr Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were travelling in heavy fog after visiting a dam on the country's border with Azerbaijan when the helicopter suffered what state media described as a "hard landing" on Sunday, local time.
A Turkish drone located the crash site in the mountainous terrain of Iran's province, East Azerbaijan early on Monday using thermal imaging technology.
State media said images from the site showed the helicopter crashed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word yet on the cause of the crash.
Poor weather and rugged terrain hampered ground-based search efforts in the area north of Tabriz, in the province of East Azerbaijan.
"President Raisi's helicopter was completely burned in the crash … unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead," an Iranian official earlier told Reuters news agency.
The head of Iran's Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV "the situation does not look good" after seeing the wreckage.
"With the discovery of the crash site, no signs of life have been detected among the helicopter's passengers."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had called on Iranians to pray for the president following reports of the crash.
Mr Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear programme, also sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.
Mr Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.
Iran's first vice-president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, is expected to become interim president, based on the country's constitution.
As interim president, Mr Mokhber will be part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organise a new presidential election within 50 days of the president's death.
Iran has 12 vice-presidents who lead different organisations related to presidential affairs. The first vice-president coordinates the other vice-presidencies and chairs cabinet meetings at the direction of the president.
Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday.
A Turkish drone identified a source of heat suspected to be the helicopter's wreckage and had shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities, Anadolu news agency said earlier on X.
State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.
The chief of staff of Iran's army ordered all resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guards to be put to use in search and rescue operations.
Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country.
In the early hours of Monday, it showed a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot in a blizzard.
"We are thoroughly searching every inch of the general area of the crash," state media quoted a regional army commander as saying.
"The area has very cold, rainy, and foggy weather conditions. The rain is gradually turning into snow."
Several countries expressed concern and offered assistance in any rescue.
Reuters/AP