Iranian Armed Forces chief Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri has assigned a high-ranking delegation to investigate the helicopter crash in which President Ebraham Raisi and other high-ranking officials were killed.
The delegation has been sent to the crash site and the results of the investigation will be announced when the mission is completed, Irna said later on Monday.
Iran will hold presidential elections on June 28, as stated by country’s news agency. The date was decided in a meeting of senior officials led by interim president Mohammad Mokhber , who was First Vice President.
Mr Khamenei has declared five days of national mourning, confirming their deaths with “great sorrow and regret”.
Mehdi Mousavi, head of Mr. Raisi’s protection unit, pilots Taher Mostafavi and Mohsen Darynaosh, and several bodyguards were also killed in the crash, Irna reported.
The group was travelling from Azerbaijan to Iran’s city of Tabriz when their helicopter made a ” hard landing” due to heavy fog, state media said on Sunday afternoon.
There was no sign of life detected at the site of the crash in East Azerbaijan province, after more than 70 rescue teams spent the night scouring the mountainous terrain on foot.
Initial reports on the crash varied wildly, including claims that contact had been made with several people onboard the helicopter.
The bodies were removed from the crash site on Monday morning and taken to the city of Tabriz, the Red Crescent announced, with funeral arrangement set to be revealed by the government.
Experts say the death of Mr Raisis widely seen as the successor to an ailing Mr Khamenei, 85, will disrupt the choice for the next supreme leader.
The government has introduced tighter restriction on public freedom after the protests.
