Iranian President Raisi dies in helicopter crash

TEHRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have been declared dead.

They were missing after their helicopter crashed close to the Azerbaijan border.

The pair were travelling in a three-helicopter convoy when their aircraft had difficulty in the fog.

Russia immediately dispatched two advanced aircraft, helicopters and 50 personnel to join rescue operations.

But, there was little hope of finding them alive given the terrain and time lapsed.

Some media outlets are reporting that they have been 'martyred'.

The 63-year-old President was seen as the natural successor to Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Raisi was a hardline conservative politician with deep connections to the judiciary and religious elite.