Iran’s hard-line president still missing after likely helicopter crash in foggy, mountainous region

Traveling with Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. A helicopter carrying President Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. Under the Iranian constitution, Iran’s vice first president takes over if the president dies with Khamenei’s assent, and a new presidential election would be called within 50 days. Raisi won Iran’s 2021 presidential election, a vote that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections.