"The people of Iran should not be concerned, there will be no disruption in the country's functions," Khamenei said in a meeting with families of the Revolutionary Guards members in Tehran, according to the IRNA news agency.

'Ayatollah' Khamenei said he hoped that "God will return the president and his companions to the nation's embrace."

"Pray, all of you, for the health of these servants," he added.

Iraqi, Azeri, Armenian and Saudi authorities have offered to help in the search and rescue operation for the helicopter, which crashed in a hard-to-reach area near the border with Azerbaijan and whose whereabouts are still unknown.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al Sudani "directed the Ministry of Interior, the Iraqi Red Crescent and other competent authorities to provide the Islamic Republic of Iran with available resources to help search for the Iranian president's aircraft," government spokesman Bassem al Auadi said, according to IraqiNews.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter) that "as a neighboring, friendly and brotherly country, the Republic of Azerbaijan is ready to provide all kinds of support."

"Armenia, as a close neighbor and friend of Iran, is ready to provide all necessary support," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, while Riyadh offered "all assistance" to find President Raisi.

"We affirm that the [Saudi] kingdom stands by the Islamic Republic of Iran in these difficult circumstances and is ready to provide all assistance that the Iranian authorities need," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement, despite the country's long-standing rivalry with Iran.

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirmed that a helicopter carrying the president had to make an "emergency landing" and that it is missing.

The official explained that the aircraft, which was carrying the president back from an official event in Azerbaijan, had to descend due to heavy fog.

Iranian authorities believe that the helicopter is in the Kalibar area, about 30 kilometers from the border with Azerbaijan, where the president and his entourage had attended the inauguration of a dam, together with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

The official news agency added that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also on board the aircraft.

State television broadcast images of a team from the Iranian Red Crescent climbing a slope in dense fog, as well as live images of crowds of faithful reciting prayers at the Imam Reza holy shrine in Mashhad, Raisi's hometown.

The search work is being hampered by fog and rain.

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