Rhino: Agencies – The announcement of the death of the Iranian president and a number of officials will be made within hours, the US network CNN said.

A US State Department spokesman said in a statement on Sunday that the department is closely following reports of the crash of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.

A helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had difficulty landing on Sunday as it flew through a mountainous area shrouded in thick fog on its way back from a visit in a border region with Azerbaijan, Iranian news agencies said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA) reported that bad weather was complicating rescue efforts.

The semi-official Fars news agency asked Iranians to pray for Raisi, while state television broadcast prayers for his safety.

The helicopter that crashed was carrying Raisi, Amir Abdollahian and local officials, IRNA said.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told state television that the helicopter, which was part of a three-plane convoy, had difficulty landing and that authorities were awaiting further details.

Raisi, 63, was elected in 2021 and since taking office has ordered tighter morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and exerted strong pressure in nuclear talks with world powers.

Many see Raisi as working towards becoming Iran’s supreme leader, succeeding Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s political system is divided between the religious establishment and the government, with the supreme leader, not the president, having the final say on all major policies.

But many see Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who strongly endorses his key policies.