Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Iran President Raisi Confirmed Dead after Helicopter Crash. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired May 20, 2024 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This CNN Breaking News.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton and we are following breaking news out of Iran or state media has now confirmed the death of President Ibrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister after a deadly helicopter crash.

Now rescue crews are now at a staging area. Those are live pictures where they are trying to assess where exactly the wreckage is and to begin their recovery efforts. Iranian officials say the helicopter ran into trouble amid heavy fog on Sunday afternoon.

Images of the crash site in Iran east Azerbaijan province showed the remote mountainous area where the aircraft went down. And you were looking at a photo of it right there. The President and other officials had been attending a ceremony for the opening of a new dam near the border with Azerbaijan. Rescuers face difficult weather conditions overnight, including cold and heavy fog as they scrambled to locate the crash site.

Iranians were urged to pray for the president amid news of the crash with the country's Supreme Leader vowing that there will be no disruption in Iran's work.

CNN's Paula Hancocks' following all these developments, and joins us now live from Abu Dhabi. We should say, state media has officially declared that their president has died and we have not heard again from the Supreme Leader. But just if you can bring us right up to date on what happened in any reaction that you have coming in.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula we do know that nine people on board that helicopter lost their lives in the eastern Azerbaijan province. We know that the President was on board the foreign minister, we understand the governor of that province, also an imam of Friday prayers of that province, along with security, the pilots the crew, so nine people in all went down with that helicopter.

Now you have mentioned the dire weather conditions, it took rescue teams around 16 hours to be able to locate and get to that area itself. The rescue teams were unable to put a helicopter into the air. They said because of the weather conditions. The fact that the fog was so thick visibility was very limited. We

also heard from the rescue teams that there were subzero temperatures that it was extremely cold in these areas. You can see from the images of the very mountainous area near inhospitable terrain, and sparsely populated. So that's the latest information we have.

We do know also from state media that the government has convened an urgent meeting they say that according to a photo that was provided by state media, that the chair that set President Raisi would usually sit in had a black sash across it for morning. We understand from state media as well that there will be details in in the hours to come about the morning precession, the process, the timing, the details, all those will come to us shortly through state media.

But people in Iran will be waking up this Monday morning to this this shocking news that said both the President and also the top diplomat have lost their lives in this helicopter crash. Of course questions will be asked internally now about what happened about weather why this this helicopter was in the air with such dire weather conditions.

We know it was in a convoy there were three helicopters in all carrying the delegation of President racy from this inauguration of the dam project. Just on the border with Azerbaijan. There were three helicopters. Two of them landed safely, but the one carrying the President's and the foreign minister we know now did not pull up. Paula.

NEWTON: Paula Hancocks for us in Abu Dhabi, continuing to track reaction, really appreciate it. I want to bring in CNN chief international anchor now Christiane Amanpour. Christiane, really good to have your insights here. You interviewed the foreign minister a little bit over a year ago you tried to interview the president, I just want to get your reaction to what really it has been shocking news.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, Paula, it is obviously shocking news and it couldn't come at a more unstable time for Iran.

[01:05:00]

And for the region, Iran faces as you know those internal protests and discontent that have been crushed brutally in the aftermath of Mahsa Amini's dead. And that was under the direction of President Raisi, and the Supreme Leader and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It also comes at a time when the Israeli war on Gaza against Hamas continues, and as you know, the perennial shadow war between Israel and Iran that had been going on, broke into the open over the last several weeks, that somewhat subsided after a reaction from both sides.

But nonetheless, it shows the parallel of the situation. You can imagine for the United States for the West, one of the most important issues is the Iran nuclear issue that has been somewhat contained, after the 2015 nuclear agreement that President Obama negotiated with Iran and with Europe and was rubber stamped or rubber stamped into officialdom by the entire United Nations process.

President Trump at the urging, also Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pull the United States out of that, and that caused much more uncertainty and stability over the process of the Iran nuclear program. We understand over the last week or so there was some word from the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear agency, that they were back in talks with Iran, to make sure that everything was happening above board and within the nuclear regulations, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, we wait to see what kind of work they were doing on that. And it's known that the United States is trying to stabilize issues with Iran, given the volatility of the region right now.

As for inside Iran, as you mentioned, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued many statements before the news that he had actually been found dead, saying that the nation was praying and you're bound to see days if not weeks of official mourning organized all over the country. He also said that the affairs of the country will not be disrupted or disturbed.

To that point, there is a act of succession there is a line of succession, there's a first there's a first vice president, and you're bound to see at least interim measures being put in place to ensure the continuous running of the system.

At one point before the Mahsa Amini death and before the protests and the riots back in 2022, Raisi, a very hardline fundamentalist was being considered a successor to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who himself is elderly news of his ill health and, you know, sort of say frailty has appeared to be vastly overstated over the years, however, he is aging, and there needs to be a succession there in place if that system is to continue.

Raisi was then considered to have somewhat disqualified himself or dis merged and studied his reputation, given the political and popular uprising against him inside Iran, as well as the economy being really bad for the people. He is not considered to have brought prosperity at all to the Iranian nation.

And if you look online, on social media, you can see the reaction from many, many people both outside and inside Iran. His most recent legacy will have been the brutal crackdown on the freedom life protesters, the women life freedom protesters, and from his very early days, he was very senior if not head of the judiciary process. And he had been accused or not accused. He had he had been overseeing some of the trials in the very early days of the revolution.

And in one point signing off on one that led to the execution of thousands of anti-regime officials or activists, so his career has been incredibly checkered. But nonetheless, it's a big change and a shock in a very volatile region and a very volatile place.

And as for Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, yes, I interviewed him. And he is somebody who's had a huge amount of interaction with the U.N. with, you know, international governments, and he's known very well around the world. Paula. NEWTON: Christiane, do you think that that will be a bit of a loss? I was discussing earlier, just that he was a man who certainly was nuanced in his foreign policy, perhaps did the work that President Raisi didn't want to do or wasn't capable of doing.

[01:10:00]

Do you think that at this pivotal time in the region and beyond that that is quite a loss for Iran as well?

AMANPOUR: You know, Paula, but the truth of the matter is that Iran is run by the Supreme Leader and more and more by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Those are the people who run the country. The rest are acting at their service and their behest, they're not independent.

You can have nuance, you can have styles, differences that can either be more abrasive or less, but the actual running of the country is from a much higher level. So I think, certainly in international affairs and National Security Affairs, so I believe that that is likely not to change.

NEWTON: And Christiane, given, you know, that they're going to have to have elections within about 50 days, I guess they've had these elections that at times give them certainly the veneer of legitimacy, if not, in fact, legitimacy.

Do you believe that there's a potential for problems there, given there was such low turnout in the election in which President Raisi was elected, and given as you rightly point out the repressive nature of the regime and the economic turmoil, especially with that very large, young population in Iran?

AMANPOUR: Well, I think that is something really to look for, I think one of the most important political statements by the people in recent years. Well, since the uprisings and the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, and the desperate desire for democracy and freedom, and an economic future. I think that it was very significant.

And the Iranian structure, the regime was shocked at the very low turnout in those recent midterm parliamentary elections, regional elections. I think the turnout was 41 percent, which was a historic low, and for them, no matter how manage these, so called elections are, and in this in the last several years, certainly under Raisi and before, there was almost no choice. I mean, before they would play it having some kind of choice, there would be potentially somebody from the reform crowd being allowed to run. This time, not at all during the last presidential election, and it's highly manage.

And so when they came to these reasons elections, they use that they hoped the regime as a barometer of faith in the system, where they were told that the faith in the system is crumbling, because the turnout was extremely low. So I think that is something to watch very, very carefully for in any future election.

And I do also think it's important to watch to see whether people decide to use this moment to again vent their anger and frustration at what they believe is incredibly bad governance, failure to deliver on their basic human needs, not to mention their human rights.

So I think that it is an important moment to take stock, certainly the international community has to be, you know, fairly careful how they react. And we'll see how they react inside Iran.

NEWTON: Yes. When you talk about that careful reaction, it is quite delicate for the U.S. administration, but also how Israel reacts to this. Is this potentially quite destabilizing as you've already pointed out at quite a pivotal time in the region?

AMANPOUR: I think it is, and was Israel took that. It hasn't admitted it. But the initial action to blow up the Iranian consulate embassy in Damascus, Syria in April, which then led to the rather potentially very dangerous, so called tit for tat between Iran sending some 300 missiles and drones into Israel, followed by a Israeli strike around an area which houses one of the Iran nuclear plants.

You know, that could have escalated far beyond but I remember at that point, in fact, it might have been Abdullah here. No, it was it was several officials who said that this is now done. And they sort of put a full stop on that escalation and that out in the open conflict there. We don't know whether Israel might want to use this time for any other situation, thinking that it can maybe affect some change inside Iran is very unclear.

Certainly the U.S. National Security Adviser, Secretary of State was there last week and this weekend, maybe but the U.S. national security adviser was there and he's going to Saudi Arabia is up there over the weekend. I'm not sure that there will for sure have been some kind of discussions is everybody was waiting overnight to see what the results of this rescue mission should watch now it's a recovery mission in East Azerbaijan province in Iran.

[01:15:05]

I think the whole region, you know, Saudi Arabia particularly is trying to get a bilateral defense deal with the United States. And one of their main issues is Iran. Of course, the United States wants to make that a trilateral with Israel to ensure that the Palestinian situation is properly reflected, and that there is progress and meaningful progress finally, on Palestinian rights and eventually their own statehood.

So it really does come at a very complicated time.

On the other hand, it is a country which is led by above the president and Foreign Minister. As I said, the Revolutionary Guard Corps has a huge hand in running almost all aspects of the country most certainly the military and foreign affairs and hand in hand with the Supreme Leader.

NEWTON: Christiane, we will leave it there for now. We really appreciate you helping us parse what is very shocking news of this hour. Christiane Amanpour for us, thanks so much. Now, Ali Vaez is the International Crisis Group's Iran's project

director, and he joins me now from Doha. Thanks for being with us. And we're just going to pick off or pick up where Christiane left off there for us.

I'm wondering what you believe will be the regional reaction here and beyond to what has been just stunning news in the last few hours.

ALI VAEZ, IRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: OK, I think amid all the volatility and turmoil that we've seen in the region, this is one additional points of uncertainty that the region just didn't want to see. But the reality is that the Iranian presidents have very little say on foreign policy, even foreign minister is not more than a spokesperson for the foreign ministry.

And in that sense, it is really the supreme leader and the Revolutionary Guards who make the final decisions and even in the region mostly implement Iran's regional policy. So I think overall, we will see more continuity than change.

NEWTON: When you say more continuity than change, though, given the fact that as I said, they want this these elections held these -- they have to be held in 50 days, is there not a risk there, though, of some type of destabilization, especially given the health of the Supreme Leader.

VAEZ: Look, in this region, there is always that kind of risk. But the reality is that in the next 50 days, I think the Iranians will be more internally focused, because they would have to organize a high stakes election in a very short period of time. Usually the vetting process in Iran is quite complicated. Although conservatives are in control of all levers of power, but they are engaged in very serious infighting. And the rupture between the states and the society is quite serious.

So the system would be most likely concerned about internal unrest during the next few weeks. And in that sense, I think it's not going to focus on region, as was the case in the past. But let's remember that just two weeks ago, Iran had a one off parliamentary election, in which only 8 percent of the capital residents actually participated at the polls. And that just shows how unpopular the regime is at this moment in time.

NEWTON: Right , and teetering towards being illegitimate, given the kind of process that's in front of people. And only 8 percent, as you said, showed up for that election, given that there is a risk, right, of what could happen after 50 days in this election.

You mentioned that, in fact, they would be internally focused now, where do you think that leaves a Iranian militias proxies, and how they will handle the next uncertainty in the coming weeks in the couple months?

VAEZ: So look, we've seen a period of relative calm in Iraq and Syria in terms of attacks on U.S. forces in the past few months, I think that is likely to continue. We saw the very dangerous tips for tat between Iran and Israel that, thankfully did not end in an all-out war because neither Iran or Israel really had an appetite for an all-out war. And of course, the United States tried its best to prevent expansion of the conflict in Gaza. And all of those fundamentals I think, will still be in place in the next 50 days.

However, there are uncertainties as well. For instance, Iranian allies, like the Houthis in Yemen, were not really an Iranian proxy and have a long track record of ignoring Iranian advice can take unilateral action without coordinating with Iran that if it results in significant number of casualties, it might actually escalate tensions significantly.

Same applies to the fact that Iran and Israel have been in the process of rewriting the rules of the game so the old rules are out but the new rules are not yet established.

[01:20:00]

And in that space, there is possibility of miscalculation. And finally, there are tensions between Israel and Iran's closest ally in the region Hezbollah in Lebanon, that could again at any moment, flare up and spiral out of control. So the risks are quite significant.

NEWTON: I want to ask you about what you believe the reaction will be inside of Iran. I don't think anyone believes that there will be an uprising. But what do you think, is the danger there for the Supreme Leader as obviously, he tries to convince people that in his words, there will be no disruption?

VAEZ: Look, this is a system that in the past few years has been focused on minimizing the risks and making sure that everything is predictable in the run up to the prospect of the supreme leader's succession. And they were grooming President Raisi to be a potential successor to the Supreme Leader, not necessarily because he was the most competent, but because he was one of the most loyal to the deep state in Iran represented by the Office of the Supreme Leader, and the Revolutionary Guards.

And so now this creates a vacuum that I'm sure rivals in Iran would try to fill. And it definitely throws all the plans that the Office of the Supreme Leader probably had out of the window. But having said this, there is no shortage of people who are subservient, and belong to the old guard of the Islamic Republic, who could potentially step in. And so they have to go back to the drawing board. But I don't expect this to be, again, the fundamental game changer.

NEWTON: Is it important right now, that regional allies where you are in the region and the United States is we go, you know, really handle this with some type of diplomacy right now that these are delicate situations, depending on the kind of reaction right now?

VAEZ: Absolutely, but not only I think, the regional countries and even the western United States should handle this crisis quite carefully. It makes sure it doesn't, again, create space for miscalculation, or further escalation, especially because Iran sees itself now in a positive position of vulnerability, and often acts more aggressively when it's in in such circumstances. But also because it up actually provides an opportunity. There is a rupture with the pattern that we have seen in the past three years, and Iran could potentially be nudged with a more open election towards a government that will be more representative and therefore will be able to reduce tensions in the region and between Iran and the West. I'm not holding my breath that would happen. But I'm saying that the West should not miss this opportunity to encourage Iran to move in that direction.

NEWTON: I believe they call it do not waste a good crisis. We will see what happens in the region, especially in the coming hours as we await reaction in the United States from Israel and beyond. Ali Vaez, thanks so much, really appreciate it. And we will be right back with more breaking news in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:26:50]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

NEWTON: We take you back to our breaking news story this hour, Iranian state media has confirmed that President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister have died in a helicopter crash. Seven other people were on board and search and rescue team say they found no survivors at the crash site.

The aircraft came down early Sunday afternoon as it was flying over Iran East Azerbaijan province. Earlier former .U.S Defense Secretary Leon Panetta explained to CNN why he was surprised that there were so many high ranking officials on board flying in dangerous condition. Listen.

(BEGIN IVDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Usually don't want to put your top officials in one helicopter, that's not a good policy to follow. And when I was chief of staff, we never did that with the President or the Vice President and others. We will you -- you normally would want to have them go in separate helicopters.

This was a big event, evidently, in Azerbaijan. They were dedicating a dam. And so the President and the foreign minister went up there together. They probably decided to ride together in the helicopter, which was a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So what happens now that Iran's President is confirmed dead. According to Iran's constitution, the first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will take over the role with the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

Next, the heads of the three branches of government must arrange for an election to choose a new leader within 50 days. Raisi was elected president in 2021. And the next presidential election was due to take place next year. But now it will take place by early July.

CNN's Ivan Watson has been tracking all of these developments for us and he joins us now live from Hong Kong. Yes, Ivan, incredibly stunning news. People in Iran still just waking up to this right now. The staging area is set for those recovery operations there in that remote area and one has to imagine a pretty complicated investigation as well.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For sure, in the meantime, we are seeing the signs all the hallmarks of ushering in a period of official mourning, with the this deadly crash now, and the result that the President the country has died, Ebrahim Raisi. So for example, there's been an urgent meeting of the Iranian government. And they showed images of Ebrahim Raisi's empty seat there with a black sash over that seat.

The Iranian state television anchors right now. They're wearing black. Ebrahim Raisi being described as a martyr. And if you want another example of that, take a look at the front page of the Tehran Times, English language newspaper there that declares martyrdom in the line of duty and the entire concept of martyrdom is very, very important, certainly in Iran and in the political culture there.

[01:30:02]

So this is just the very beginning. The Iranian stock market is reportedly being closed as a result of this and we'll be following further kind of the official -- the official responses and reactions and commemoration of the death of Ebrahim Raisi, who rose through the ranks since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He was a judge.

And in fact was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury which accused him of being responsible for the deaths of many people in the 1980s, executions of political opponents of the Islamic Republic.

So his legacy inside the country is very mixed in a country that is very polarized and has seen the security forces repeatedly brought out to crack down on any form of dissent in the streets. Certainly since the death of the woman in 2022, which triggered another round of protest movements that's Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody, Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, certainly incredible controversy that's happened under President Raisi and those uprisings and yet the repression has been incredibly severe.

I'm wondering, Ivan given the hostilities in the region, what the regional reaction may be, and how delicate of a balance many nations are going to have to find in the coming hours and days.

WATSON: Right. Well, this is effectively the death -- the untimely death of a head of state. So even countries with complicated relations with Tehran, and there are many that have that, in the aftermath of the crash are coming out with messages of solidarity.

I'll point out Pakistan for example where Iran bombed a border region of Pakistan in January and triggered widespread anger within the political elite and military elite in Pakistan, sending messages of condolence and support in the wake of the news coming out of this now deadly helicopter crash.

The president of Azerbaijan is the last head of state to have seen Raisi face-to-face. This was Sunday when the two leaders met at the border to inaugurate the new dam project. And it is from that location that Raisi was flying in a helicopter when the aircraft went down.

So Ilham Aliyev put out a statement saying that he was troubled by news of the helicopter crash, and he said, our prayers to Allah Almighty for President Raisi and for the delegation offering any help possible.

Turkey, a neighbor of Iran, sent a drone that helped with the search for the crash and Russia also sent aircraft and dozens of rescuers to come to the scene to try to help with that.

We know that Vladimir Putin, according to Iran's ambassador to Moscow, had effectively an emergency meeting with the Iranian diplomat, which I think underscores the close ties between Moscow and Tehran.

And we'll likely see more of these kinds of outpourings of support in the days and weeks ahead.

NEWTON: Yes. And we will continue to track it for you.

Our Ivan Watson for us in Hong Kong. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

And we will be right back with more news in a moment.

You are watching CNN.

[01:33:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: More now on the breaking news out of Iran. Iranian news agencies say the government there has convened an urgent meeting following the announcement that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash.

His chair at that meeting was left vacant and a black sash was placed in his memory.

Eight other people were onboard, that includes Iran's foreign minister. Iranian officials say the helicopter ran into trouble and heavy fog on Sunday. It was returning from a trip to the Iranian- Azerbaijan border where the president had attended a ceremony for the opening of a new dam.

Now this video shows President Raisi during that trip on board a helicopter over the weekend. He was elected in 2021 and Iran's government is expected to move quickly to elect his replacement.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has been following all of this for us from Abu Dhabi. I'm grateful to have you as we continue to parse exactly what's going on and the stunning news that Iranians are just waking up to really.

Paula, can you tell us more about what the investigation might look like at this point? We continue to have live pictures out of that staging area in that remote location where the crash happened.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Paula, obviously the questions will be asked as to the weather conditions which is something we have been hearing about consistently from rescue teams who were trying to locate the area of the crash.

They said that they were unable to put a helicopter into the air to survey the area, to try and pinpoint quicker exactly where this helicopter went down because conditions did not allow it.

So that just shows how bad the weather conditions were. It obviously raises questions as to why the helicopter carrying the president and the foreign minister, among others, was allowed to get into the air and to fly through this very inhospitable terrain.

Now we heard from our CNN Meteorologist Department that there was low hanging cloud in the area at the time of the crash, saying it is very difficult to get exact readings in this very remote area of northwestern Iran.

[01:39:43]

HANCOCKS: But temperatures appear to be lower than they would usually have been. And that has been backed up by what we heard as well from the Iranian Red Crescent, from rescue teams saying how bitterly cold the situation was. And the fact that they were having to try and track this location on foot.

We know that it took about 16 hours from the time that the helicopter was reported to have lost the -- lost any contact with anybody and to the time when it was actually fine. So that's a substantial amount of time that passed before it was able to be located.

So these are all the considerations that will be taken when investigators are trying to find out exactly what happened.

Also, I think the question will be asked as to why the president and the foreign minister, were on the same helicopter. Now certainly in many countries, the protocol would be that the two such VIPs would not be on the same helicopter.

We know that there was a convoy of three helicopters that were traveling from eastern Azerbaijan province where the president and his delegation had been attending an inauguration of a dam. And we know that two of those helicopters landed safely. One however, did not.

So what the investigators will be looking at is the weather conditions, whether this helicopter should have been in the air. Obviously, looking at all those on board, we know nine people were on board -- the president, the foreign minister, a governor, also an imam. There was security personnel, the pilot, copilot, and crew.

So these are the sorts of things that will be looked at at this point as they are trying to be -- trying to be investigated, Paula.

NEWTON: And Paula empower as you're speaking, news into CNN, that the bodies of those killed in that the crash are now being transported to Tabriz. Tabriz is that regional hub where we had seen that video of that staging area.

That was according to the news agency in Iran, they are quoting Iran's Red Crescent. And we should say has been pivotal throughout all of this including in the search and rescue, and getting information from the site.

Paula, given everything that's gone on in terms of regional sensitivities here, do you have a sense of what the regional reaction will be now? Certainly there was a lot of solidarity in the early hours, everyone offering help.

But now that it is confirmed that the president and the foreign minister are both dead, given the turmoil in the region right now, what do you think will be some of the reaction we can -- we will hear about?

HANCOCKS: Well Paula there were certainly difficult relations between Iran and a number of countries in this region. But the fact remains that a head of states has been killed. A head of state has died and this will likely supersede the, the individual relations, at least in the short-term.

You would expect other heads of states to show their solidarity, to give their condolences to what has happened. And we sort of certainly saw that in the first few hours after the helicopter had been reported as missing, that a number of countries were offering help.

We know that the European Union was offering help with satellites tracking. We know that Turkey, for example, had that heat drone, which was pivotal in finding the location of the crash, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. Extraordinary that even the E.U. was pitching in in those hours to try and find any survivors, there were none.

As we said, the bodies of those killed and helicopter crash now returning to that staging area at Tabriz.

Paula Hancocks for us in Abu Dhabi. Thanks so much.

Still ahead for us. We will continue to bring you the latest news out of Iran.

We'll be right back in a moment.

[01:43:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Now back to our breaking news with the deaths of the president of Iran and his foreign minister in that helicopter crash.

Abas Aslani is an Iranian journalist and a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies. And he joins me now from Tehran. I want to thank you for being with us and just want to hear your reaction.

This morning, so many Iranians are waking up to really what has been a shocking incident with both the leader -- the president, and his foreign minister now confirmed dead in a helicopter crash.

ABAS ASLANI, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST STRATEGIC STUDIES: Well, Paula, what was happening yesterday was uncertainty in the country and nobody knew that what had happened.

But today, it's clear that the president as well as foreign minister and a few passengers on board died as a result of the helicopter crash. And what has been happening as of last night, I think most prominently by the leader, they have been trying to make sure that the situation's in control and they will survive this in order to prepare for a transition for early election.

Iranian cabinet had an emergent and this morning. They had an official statement in the end saying that they will try to make sure that the administration of the government will face no problems.

They want to somehow assure people that this situation will be in control, meaning that there will be no chaos. Because this has been questioned that what will happen in the aftermath of this incident.

NEWTON: When you say question though, I'm just wondering what the reaction is there in Iran, both from people that you've spoken to and also from what you're seeing in the media. Obviously, we have heard the president was quite a divisive figure.

ASLANI: Well, you know, the president as well as the foreign minister when it comes to the foreign policy, are significant and high-ranking officials in the country. But you know, now the government, the cabinet, after assuming the responsibility by the first vice president, will have 50 days in order to hold early elections. The new parliament, which is expected to take office and start work in the coming days also will be important.

[01:49:43]

ASLANI: And head of the parliament as well as the judiciary they will try to work in a council with the first vice president to make sure that the election is held, you know, smoothly.

So far, I think through the remarks made by the leader and today by the cabinet they want to somehow make sure that, you know, the transition will happen successfully.

This is a significant loss the country, however, I think the most important thing that now they are focusing on is that to survive this situation. And I think, you know this can most importantly, to some extent impact the domestic political landscape in the country. But when it comes to the foreign policy to me it seems that it's going to be the issue and subject to continuity rather than change.

NEWTON: And when we talk about what's happening internally though, this is quite a power vacuum. There are many factions that will be fighting to even just be on a ballot for the presidency. Do you believe that turmoil could destabilizing for the country.

ASLANI: I think the impact will show and be reflected in a form of rivalry between more specifically the conservatives. They will be now focusing and, you know, trying to find a new candidate to run for the president.

And some other conservative rivals will be hopeful to run for the president. In this way, I think this can impact the domestic politics and this can create a kind of heat in the, you know, election to come in about two months.

But nobody is now today filling (ph) a turmoil in the country because the infrastructure or the establishment of the system is mostly in place and I think it can be subject to rivalry than turmoil.

NEWTON: All right. Abas Aslani from Tehran, we'll leave it there. Thanks so much.

And we'll be right back with more news in a moment. You are watching CNN.

[01:52:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Updating you now in the breaking news out of Iran. The government has convened an urgent meeting following the announcement that President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash.

This is a picture of Raisi's seat left empty and draped with a black sash. Eight other people were killed including Iran's foreign minister.

The head of Iran's Red Crescent says their bodies will be transported to the city of Tabriz.

I want to thank you for watching. I'm Paula Newton.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Kristie Lu Stout and Becky Anderson after this short break.

[01:56:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)