TEHRAN, May 20 (MNA) – Sri Lanka is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raeisi, Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian and other senior Iranian officials, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a message on X.

“I express my deepest sympathies and sincere condolences to the bereaved families, the government and the people of Iran. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of President Raisi and his entourage,” the Srilankan president said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have martyred in a helicopter crash in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

The helicopter carrying President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province.

It was transporting Raeisi, Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem , and a member of the president’s bodyguard team Mahdi Mousavi. The helicopter’s pilot, co-pilot and crew were also among others on board the chopper.

President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

MNA/PR