Tehran, May 20: Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi, 63, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed after the helicopter flying them back to Iran crashed near the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on Sunday.

On Monday morning, Iran's state media confirmed that all passenger onboard the helicopter had died in the crash.

The helicopter crashed as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, while Raisi, the foreign minister and other officials were on their way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran’s northwest.

Raisi's death comes at a time when Iran is already facing several challenges, with dissent over a range of political and economic issues. The Iranian government face international pressure over its ally Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023, as well as its deepening military ties with Russia during the war with Ukraine.

The hardline leader took a tough stance in nuclear negotiations with the world leaders, as Iran enriched its uranium near weapons-grade levels. He also oversaw the launch of an aerial attack on Israel last month, in response to the killing of senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers in Iran’s embassy in Damascus.

While no official cause has been given yet, authorities said that bad weather may have led to the crash of the US-made Bell 212 helicopter.

The helicopter also carried the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

 All resources of the Iranian army and the elite Revolutionary Guards were put to use for the search and rescue operations.