Iran Elects New President After Death Of Former President Raisi
President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian has vowed to work more closely with the West, including restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, US doubts promises will be fulfilled.
TEHRAN - Iran has elected its new president after former president Ebrahim Raisi died in the Varzaqan helicopter crash on May 19th, 2024.
Former President Raisi's helicopter was the only one to crash out of three others transporting Iranian officials back to Iran after a visit to the Azerbaijani border.
The crash killed all of the occupants of the helicopter except one passenger who survived for several hours and answered calls, even hearing the sound of ambulance vehicles arriving at the scene of the crash.
East Azerbaijan representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was found dead at the crash site by rescuers, along with the other occupants of the helicopter, but had said over the phone before the rescue team arrived that he was feeling bad.
According to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Safari, "Shortly after the accident, we managed to speak with Tabriz’s Friday Prayer Imam and he said that he was feeling bad and heard the sounds of ambulance cars".
Who Is The New Iranian President-Elect?
The country's newly elected president Masoud Pezeshkian is a cardiac surgeon and reformist, is considered a moderate, and has vowed to work more closely with the West, including restoring the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal.
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During the elections, he defeated Saeed Jalili, an ultra-conservative and president of Iran's Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013, and a former Iranian nuclear negotiator.
Masoud Pezeshkian was elected the governor of the Iranian counties of Piranshahr and Naghadeh in the West Azerbaijan province in the 1980s.