Reactions to Raisi's death

Vice President takes over – election within 50 days

Iran's first vice president Mohammad Mokhber will step in as interim president in accordance with the constitution after the death of Ebrahim Raisi, reports AFP. After that, presidential elections must be held within 50 days to appoint a new ordinary president.

68-year-old Mokhber has been vice president since Raisi took office in August 2021.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani steps in as a temporary replacement for Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who also died in the helicopter crash.

On Monday morning, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also announced five days of national mourning, writes Reuters. 

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Analysis: The death creates a double power vacuum - but the regime seems to maintain its grip

The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi comes at a very turbulent time, several analysts note. Tensions in the Middle East are worse than they have been in a long time, while dissatisfaction with the religious regime simmers at home.

The death creates a double power vacuum, writes Aftonbladet's Wolfgang Hansson. On the one hand, the country is without a president, and on the other hand, Raisi was generally considered to be the one who would eventually succeed the cancer-stricken Ayatollah Khamenei, 85, as the country's supreme leader.

He writes that the opposition probably hopes that the death and the impending generational change in the religious leadership will open the way for a new reformed Iran. But more likely is that the current regime will maintain its tight grip.

"The world is now waiting with excitement to see what happens in Iran," writes Hansson.

Sky News' Dominic Waghorn is on the same track. He writes that few outside the country's leadership will mourn Raisi, but that it will not be a problem for the regime to find a new equally hard-line candidate to succeed him.

What the regime is possibly worried about is what can happen in the meantime until the successor is in place, he writes.

"The government has been weakened by recent events and the supreme leader is ill. The government will try to resolve the succession as quickly and painlessly as possible," he writes.

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Professor: There is no given successor to Raisi

There is no clear candidate for the post of Iranian president after the late Ebrahim Raisi. That's what Luciano Zaccara, professor specializing in Middle Eastern politics at the University of Qatar, told Al Jazeera.

He points out that everyone expected Raisi to be elected for a second and final term next year, since it has never happened that an Iranian president has not been re-elected. Who would run against him in the election has not even been up for discussion.

Iran now has to start from scratch when it comes to putting forward candidates, says Zaccara.

- There are some who could be interested in standing, but no one has any direct support from the political establishment, he says.

After Raisi's death, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has temporarily taken his place pending new elections that must be held within 50 days.

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Expert: The president's death will not affect politics

The death of President Ebrahim Raisi is not expected to affect Iran's political system or stability. That is what Iran expert Mohammad Fazlhashemi tells TT.

The real power in Iran rests with the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In addition, there are several political institutions that govern the country, such as the Guardian Council, the Council of Experts and the Parliament, according to Fazhashemi.

- The role of president is not marginal, but it is limited, he says.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also died in the helicopter accident on Sunday, according to Iranian media. His mandate was also very limited, says Fazlhashemi.
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India, Hamas and Russia pay tribute to Raisi: "True friends"

Condolences from the outside world are pouring in after the announcement of the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, several media reports.

Countries like India and Russia, which are close to Iran, pay tribute to the dead. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident "deeply sad and shocking" and said Raisi's work to strengthen ties between India and Iran will always be remembered.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that Raisi and Amirabdollahian were "true and reliable friends of Russia".

The terror-labeled Palestinian movement Hamas thanks Raisi for his long-term "support for our Palestinian cause and for our people's legitimate struggle" against Israel, reports the news agency Ansa, according to TT. Even the Lebanese Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah expresses sadness and calls Raisi a "protector of the resistance movement".

From the West, reactions are more muted, but European Council President Charles Michel has ex