The information was advanced by the Mehr news agency and by the government newspaper Iran Daily, but there is still no official confirmation from the authorities in Tehran.

The helicopter carrying Raisi was located today on a mountain in northwestern Iran, emergency services announced, admitting that there was little hope of finding survivors.

"The President's helicopter has been located. Emergency services are approaching the crash site (...) The situation is not good", declared the head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pirhossein Koolivand.

Iranian state television also admitted that there was "no sign" of life in the wreckage of the helicopter, at a time when rescue teams were about two kilometres from the crash site.

The helicopter carrying Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian crashed in the Kalibar and Warzghan area, in the East Azerbaijan province, in the northwest of the country.

The accident occurred on Sunday, when the entourage was returning from the border with Azerbaijan, where Raisi inaugurated a dam with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev.

At least 65 rescue teams are on the ground in search operations that are being hampered by dense fog and heavy rain.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Azerbaijan have offered help to Tehran, while US President Joe Biden has been informed about the incident, according to the White House, which did not provide further details.

Turkey has already sent 32 rescue teams and six vehicles, and the European Union has activated the Copernicus rapid response mapping service at Iran's request.

Russia has also sent a rescue team with 47 specialists, all-terrain vehicles and a helicopter.

Ebrahim Raisi, 63, a hardline cleric, was elected President of Iran in 2021, in a presidential election with the lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic.

His leadership has seen an intensification of the repression of activists, women and critics of the regime.

If Raisi's death is confirmed, he will be replaced by the current first vice-president, Mohammad Mokhber, 68, who has been in office since 2021 and previously led the powerful conglomerate "Execution of the Order of Imam Khomeini". For these functions, he has been subject to sanctions by the United States since 2021.

This change should have the "consent of the Supreme Leader" of the country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had already appealed to Iranians on Sunday to "not worry" while the search continued.

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