Putin called Iranian Raisi a “true friend of Russia” and expressed condolences over the death

President Vladimir Putin on Monday expressed condolences over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash over the weekend.

“Sayyid Ibrahim Raisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was dedicated to serving [his] country,” said a statement published on the Kremlin website.

“As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good neighborly relations between our countries and made great efforts to bring them to the level of strategic partnership,” the message says.

Tehran announced Raisi's death early Monday after rescue teams discovered his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded mountainous area, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic. He was killed along with the country's foreign minister and other officials.

“The servant of the Iranian people, Ayatollah Ibrahim Raisi, achieved the highest level of martyrdom while serving the people,” Iranian state television said, showing photographs of Raisi reading the Koran.

The 63-year-old ultra-conservative Raisi has been in power since 2021, at a time when Iran has been rocked by mass protests, an economic crisis worsened by US sanctions and armed clashes with arch-enemy Israel.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier expressed condolences over the death of Raisi and other Iranian officials aboard the crashed helicopter, saying: "We will always remember these outstanding political figures as true patriots of the Islamic Republic."