Tens of thousands of Iranians gathered on Tuesday to mourn president Ebrahim Raisi and seven members of his entourage who were killed in a helicopter crash on a fog-shrouded mountainside in the northwest.
The United States said that arch-enemy Iran sought assistance over a helicopter crash that killed president Ebrahim Raisi, as Washington meanwhile offered condolences.
Three former US foreign policy officials in Donald Trump’s administration met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other public figures in Israel.
Iran proclaimed five days of mourning for President Ebrahim Raisi, though the muted atmosphere revealed little of the spectacular public grief that accompanied the deaths of other senior figures.
While Raisi’s death is unlikely to affect foreign policy, Iran lacks charismatic candidates to succeed him and eventually Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, experts say.
Israel, Hamas and the United States have blasted the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court after he applied for arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, defence minister as well as three Hamas leaders.
Mohammad Mokhber is expected to serve as caretaker president for some 50 days before mandatory presidential elections in Iran.
Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday aged 63, was contender to succeed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s president was declared dead on Monday after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region.
Women and children among the dead in air strike on Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza.
Iran’s first vice-president, Mohammad Mokhber, could become president in the event of Ebrahim Raisi’s death, according to protocol.
Search and rescue teams scoured a fog-shrouded mountain area after President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday.
The Netanyahu rival spelled out a six-point proposal that includes the return of scores of hostages, ending Hamas’ rule and demilitarising the Gaza strip.
The US, Australia and India are among Israel’s long-time allies that have objected to the mounting casualties and escalation in the Gaza war.
The event, featuring pieces by Yasmina Qanzal, pushes the envelope in a country where women were required to wear body-covering robes less than a decade ago.
The other two captives were identified as 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a 56-year-old man, Itzhak Gelerenter.
The alleged drone shoot down comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding Israel ends the war in Gaza.
The pier was successfully anchored on Thursday, with around 500 tonnes of aid expected to enter the Palestinian territory in the coming days.
Israel denied it’s committing genocide in Gaza after South Africa filed a request at the International Court of Justice for a halt to Israeli military operations in the Palestinian enclave to stop what it called the destruction of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a full-scale ground operation in Rafah in a bid to dismantle the remaining battalions of Hamas.
The US and other countries, fearing mass casualties, have tried to convince Israel not to attack Rafah. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says it’s necessary to defeat the last of Hamas’s battalions.