Lebanon foreign minister 'feels great loss' over death of Iran president, other officials in helicopter crash

Published May 20, 2024

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bouhabib, expressed his condolences on Monday for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian.

Iranian state media said Raisi and Amirabdollahian, and others, were found dead after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest.

"I met the foreign minister many, many times since I came to this office, and we became kind of friends," Bouhabib said, adding that he and Amirabdollahian "exchanged freely information" and regularly consulted with one another.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is received by his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib in Beirut on Feb. 10, 2024. (Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images)

"I feel great loss with his death. I’ve been sad since I heard the news yesterday," he added.

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The crash comes as the Middle East remains unsettled by the Israel-Hamas war, during which Raisi, who was 63, under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel just last month.

Khamenei announced on Monday that Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, would serve as the country’s acting president until elections are held.

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