TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was declared dead on Monday after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic.

"The servant of the Iranian nation Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom while serving the people," state TV declared, showing pictures of Raisi as a voice recited the Quran.

The ultraconservative Raisi, 63, had been in office since 2021, during a time that has seen Iran rocked by mass protests, an economic crisis deepened by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch-enemy Israel.

Condolences came in from Palestinian militant group Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Syria, all members of the so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel, at a time of high Middle East tensions over the Gaza war.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians late Sunday, as the search was still ongoing, to "not worry" about the leadership of the Islamic republic, saying "there will be no disruption in the country's work."

This grab taken from handout video footage released by the IRINN Iranian state television network on May 19, 2024 shows Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi (right) talking to locals during a visit to the Jolfa region of Iran's western province of East Azerbaijan. A helicopter in the convoy of the Iranian president was involved in "an accident" in East Azerbaijan province on May 19, state televsion reported, without specifying if the president was on board. AFP PHOTO / HO / IRINN