Italy has voiced regret to Iran over the deaths of its president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash at weekend, calling the incident "a tragic accident".
'We express our condolences' on the death of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign Hossein Amir-Abdollahian," foreign minister Antonio Tajani stated.
Tajani spoke with Amir-Abdollahian "a few weeks ago", he added.
"We are sorry," Tajani said.
There are no indications foul play was involved in the helicopter crash in mountainous terrain in the Varquezan region near the Azerbaijan border on Sunday, said Tajani.
''There are not signs it could have been an attack. It was a tragic accident caused by bad weather, possibly a mechanical problem," he said.
The governor of East Azerbaijan Province and a senior imam from the city of Tabriz were among the helicopter's six passengers killed in the crash in heavy fog, according to Iran's state media.
"There should be no major shocks. I would like to reassure everyone that there will be no negative international repercussions" Tajani underlined.
"For the moment in Iran there have been no negative consequences or signs of any incidents," he said.
Tajani spoke to Italy's ambassador in Iran early on Monday and the government has been "tracking events there minute-by-minute since Sunday", he said.
Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021 and had been seen by many as a strong contender to succeed his mentor, 85-year-old Ali Khamenei, as Iran's supreme leader.
When he was killed, Raisi had been returning from a meeting with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyevto inaugurate the joint Qiz-Qalasi joint dam project.
A new presidential election must be held within 50 days according to Iran's constitution.
