Damascus, IRNA – The government of Syria has announced three days of national mourning for the Iranian president and foreign minister, who were martyred in a helicopter crash overnight in East Azarbaijan province.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent his heartfelt condolences to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Iranian government, and the people on Monday, according to the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen news network.

“We worked with the late president to preserve the prosperity of relations tying Syria and Iran together,” he said in a statement.

The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian as well as the accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province.

It was transporting Raisi, Amirabdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, and head of the president’s bodyguard team Mahdi Mousavi. The helicopter’s pilot, co-pilot, and crew were also among others on board the chopper.

President Raisi and his accompanying delegation were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

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