a even access spare parts as a result of sanctions. today, ageing bleach, they have had to buy aircraft, and aviation from russia or other quality sources or second—hand, russia or other quality sources orsecond—hand, used, russia or other quality sources or second—hand, used, and russia or other quality sources orsecond—hand, used, and it russia or other quality sources or second—hand, used, and it is an issue the country has been dealing with. also, with the incompetence within the system, that has exacerbated the impact of these sanctions, including in the aviation industry. we also saw that they made request to other countries internationally for help on this, the european commission i believe has provided satellite imagery, so in that sense it is not a very well—equipped door has access to that kind of technology is also very limited. and in this case, as

top officials in the chopper, both in the same aircraft. that is one of the major criticisms that has been directed at the system of why having two senior officials on the same aircraft. there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered. but this also speaks to that lack of access and equipment and the ageing fleet in the aviation industry where civilians had, over the years, then paying the major toll for, but in some cases also, officials. but in some cases also, officials-— but in some cases also, officials. �* ., officials. an important point to make there. _ officials. an important point to make there. he - officials. an important point to make there. he was - officials. an important point to make there. he was in i officials. an important point. to make there. he was in high demand as you would expect with this breaking news, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us here on bbc news. let's take a moment review the latest coming out of iran. the state television is reporting there is "no sign" of life coming from president ebrahim raisi's helicopter.

the reuters news agency has also reported that the helicopter was "completely burned" in the crash, citing an iranian official. the official reportedly goes on to say that "president raisi's helicopter was completely burned "in the crash. "unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead." these are the two men believed to have been on board — president ebrahim raisi on the left, and the country's foreign minister hossein on the right. the helicopter came down in a remote mountainous area near the border with azerbaijan. the search was hampered by thick fog until a turkish surveillance drone identified a heat signature. joining me to discuss the developments is our persian correspondnet khashayarjoneidi. what was interesting in this search and rescue operation is

that many players from across the region, as well as the european union all kind of came together to deploy any of the technology that they had to go about this search and what people were hoping would also be a rescue operation. what does that tell us about just how significant it is to see these two high—ranking members of the government in a helicopter together, and then for this accident to take place? i was talking to a former army pilot who used to fly with similar helicopters, and what he mentioned to me is that they always had this problem of several officials in the country, it is said people in high—risk situations usually have two high officials accompanying each other on the same flight.

accompanying each other on the same flight-— same flight. and this is like when i talked _ same flight. and this is like when i talked in _ same flight. and this is like when i talked in the - same flight. and this is like when i talked in the early i when i talked in the early hours, you have a president and foreign minister sitting together and having the governor of their and this is highly questionable. but the other thing is regarding cooperation, this is what we are expecting among neighbours. iran and turkey are regional rivals. at the same time, they have close relations and when they were miles of forest —— massive forest fires in turkey some polo, the iranian air force dispatched the firefighting blaine to help fight the fires there, and now we have the helicopters, which on board were the president and foreign minister, turkey offered to help, offered helicopters with nightvision tools, something iran lacks, and they also said there drone

to help, and actually it was from the report that we received, it was the drone that noticed, identified a heat source in the forest, in the wooden areas. i have dimension the crash site is a treacherous terrain, mountainous, heavily forested and it was not easy to perform the rescue and search operation, and it was this drone that pinpointed the region in which they believed the crash site is, and it was after that that we heard that the rescue workers had located the rescue workers had located the site and they were approaching the helicopter, which now pictures show that has hit the mountain and has burnt. ii has hit the mountain and has burnt. , ., . ~' has hit the mountain and has burnt. , ., ., ~ ., has hit the mountain and has burnt. ,, ., ~ ., ., burnt. if you take a look at some comments _ burnt. if you take a look at some comments that - burnt. if you take a look at some comments that you | burnt. if you take a look at - some comments that you have coming out of washington, the us senator chuck schumer —— chuck schumer, he was in a few hours ago but it was thank they did not appear to be evidence

of foul play. we will await further details and investigation as well. russia has said it would be willing to assist with that. but no matter what comes out of this, you were mentioning previously about this polarised divided society there in iraq. is there the potential here for conspiracy theories to swell over what we are seeing happening?— over what we are seeing haueninu? �* , , happening? absolutely. there is alwa s a happening? absolutely. there is always a potential, _ happening? absolutely. there is always a potential, a _ always a potential, a possibility of having various theories. first of all, we still don't have the facts. the crash site has just been identified. it will take many days to investigate the area. and then the question is whether iran's neighbours or some regional players like americans have satellite stations, the russians are monitoring the area. if they come up with evidence that shows what has happened if they

produce that and provide aroma that information. so it will be some sort of investigation is needed to be done to see whether it is a technical issue or whether it is bad weather, because there is a record of most civil officials getting on a helicopter, being a president or a minister, and when the pilot says that the situation is no good to perform the flight, they would order him to take off because they have to do something important. so you have to see what has happened. but of course there are different theories coming out. one of the theories were those whether there is like foreign interference, some people were mentioning that israel has close relations with azerbaijani republic and they were at the border, but these

are just, were at the border, but these arejust, as were at the border, but these are just, as you arejust, as you mention, theories, conspiracy theories. but then there are other theories regarding the succession of the iranian leader, ebrahim raisi, with 85 years old, still no designated successor for him but there is relations about who would replace him, the hardliners as your previous guest mention, they have been grooming someone to succeed the current leader. who benefits from him getting killed? of course we still don't have any confirmation about his situation but we have two be careful about what we are making, what we are saying here about him. we still don't have any confirmation about that, we cannot speculate, but there have been a variety of conspiracy theories mentioned on social media. one thing that is important is that senator

chuck schumer, who is a democratic majority leader in the us senate, after talking to intelligence officials, people intelligence officials, people in the intelligence community in the intelligence community in the intelligence community in the us, came out this afternoon, this evening, of course before the helicopter crash site was identified, came out and said that there is no evidence of foul play, this doesn't mean that there is no evidence, more investigation is needed but what he said is important in the fact that he said that intelligence community believes that it is probably bad weather, and what we know is at the time of the accident there has been heavy rain, heavy fog in that area, and two other helicopters of course were flying with his helicopter that disappeared sunday morning in iran, and those two helicopters have managed to arrive, but this one disappeared and it took many,

many hours and many conflicting and messy reports coming out of iran that were rejected also published about the situation of the search and rescue mission, now what we is that the crash site as been identified, iran's news channel, they reported that there is no signs of life from president ebrahim raisi or any of the passengers on the helicopter.— of the passengers on the helico ter. _, , ,., helicopter. our correspondent, thank you _ helicopter. our correspondent, thank you so — helicopter. our correspondent, thank you so much _ helicopter. our correspondent, thank you so much for- helicopter. our correspondent, thank you so much for that - thank you so much for that latest reporting. we have a senior fellow at the atlantic council and an iranian journalist. he explains who ebraham raisi is and how he came to power. he was a mid— ranking cleric who was essentially in the supreme leader �*s inner circle

who would be one of the closest allies, and he became president after all of the reformist and moderate candidates were pretty much disqualified in an election that many considered and many voters stayed away from. ., ., ., . �* �* and many voters stayed away from. ., . . . �* �* , from. you are watching bbc news with our live _ from. you are watching bbc news with our live coverage _ from. you are watching bbc news with our live coverage of- with our live coverage of the latest coming out of iran. you can also follow all the developments on our live page as well on bbc .com, and what we can report according to our live page on what we are also saying in our tv coverage as well is, as of around half—an—hour ago, well is, as of around half—an—hourago, no sign well is, as of around half—an—hour ago, no sign of life at the wreckage site. according to iranian state tv, and that is also reuters reporting that the helicopter was" completely burned in the crash", citing iranian official, and visual —— unfortunately is being reported, all passengers are

feared dead. similarly we also have another post which is quoting ahead iran's red crescent society, and they located the wreckage site, and what they said upon arriving there is that the situation is not good, and then in terms of what we are getting from our reporters from bbc persian, according to them, they say he lived in iran in the late 1980s and the days leading up to the official announcement of the debt of the founder of the islamic republic, the images of that funeral are etched onto the memory of iranians, and according to our reporter, although we haven't got clarity yet, it feels to him that a familiar stage is being set right now as we wait for an official announcement out of iran, and further down as well. the bbc persian senior reporter

has written about what he calls iran's poor aviation safety record, saying that the cause of course of the helicopter crash at this stage is not known, but iran has a poor record at least partly the result of decades of us sanctions which have severely weakened its aerial fleet, sanctions which have severely weakened its aerialfleet, and president ebrahim raisi was on board a helicopter, and according to state news agencies, and this was a model that was made in the united states, could have been salty around since —— sold to iran since 1969 revolution, previous ministers of fence and transportability commanders of tra nsportability commanders of the transportability commanders of the armed forces have died in plano at helicopter crashes. it to our live page if you want to continue to get up information as well as our network of correspondence and reporters continue to file the very

latest. in the meantime, we can nowjoined jason. the policy director of united against nuclear iran. welcome to you. everybody is grappling and getting their heads around this news right now full of but what do you think world leaders, including lunacy the united states, will be making what we have been hearing in the last a0 minutes or so? it hearing in the last 40 minutes or so? , ., ., , or so? it is great to be with ou. i or so? it is great to be with you- i think— or so? it is great to be with you. i think that _ or so? it is great to be with you. i think that the - or so? it is great to be with you. i think that the news | you. i think that the news appears to indicate that the president of the islamic republic and the foreign minister are dead after a helicopter crash, i think that there are a few takeaway is here. one is that the death will not have a fundamental change in the policy, and that is because the strategic decision maker in the system is a supreme leader, the president is in implementer, so that is first. secondly, the president

was considered a potential successor to ayatollah ali khamenei, this has the potential to scramble the politics surrounding six session and that will be very dynamic to watch —— succession. lastly, there will likely be an election after 50 days, and in the interim, the first vice president, who previously had an economic conglomerate, and is a trusted lieutenant of the supreme leader, he will become the interim president, so those are some takeaway �*s. when you talk about the potential for some scrambling when it comes to the dynamics are made to the line of succession for the role of supreme leader, this is interesting because even just taking a look at some think pieces from a couple of weeks ago, one saying he will be around's next leader, not

ayatollah khamenei's sun, instead regarding succession that ebrahim raisi is likely to succeed him than his son. of course things look very different now in light of what we have been learning in the past few minutes. talk to us about more for their potential in your words a scrambling in the upper echelons, really consequential echelons of power in iran. do you think that could lead to some instability? potentially come yes. i would say ibrahim racy while widely viewed as incompetent as president he was the most experienced bureaucratically in the islamic republic�*s elite bar none. no other person in the political elite can claim they have presided over two branches of government, the judiciary and the presidency, said the absence of someone with those kind of roles opens up with those kind of roles opens up the field and has increased the competition. as you

mentioned, mustapha khamenei has always been considered a candidate, but the supreme leader did not want it to seem like a monarchy, which was overthrown in 1979. but he has been an extremely powerful presence and his father's office. there are others that will be given added attention in the weeks and months ahead. we should also touch on the fact foreign minister was also believed to have been on that helicopter, and on that point, i do want to ask you when it comes to the nuclear policy, we know that just last week the irani and foreign minister met with a head of the

international atomic energy agency and of course grossi has long been demanding better access to iran's nuclear facilities, so on that point, what do you think that could potentially spell for around nuclear capabilities?- nuclear capabilities? iran's nuclear capabilities? iran's nuclear programme - nuclear capabilities? iran's nuclear programme and i nuclear capabilities? iran's| nuclear programme and the decision—making surrounding it will remain unchanged, as i mentioned earlier, and that is because at the end of the day it is the supreme leader and the supreme national security council which are overseeing the nuclear file, council which are overseeing the nuclearfile, and some of your listeners may recall on that visit of the director—general to tehran recently, not only did he meet with iran's foreign minister, who appears to have died on this plane crash, but at the same time he met with a man named as the deputy foreign minister, and had been the negotiator for the islamic republic in the unsuccessful attempts to revive the jcpoa republic in the unsuccessful attempts to revive thejcpoa in 2021 and 2022, and he is someone to look at as a potential at least interim

foreign minister with the apparent death of the foreign minister. �* ., ~ ., minister. and what we know about him? _ minister. and what we know about him? ellie _ minister. and what we know about him? ellie black- minister. and what we know about him? ellie black kani| minister. and what we know. about him? ellie black kani is an in law _ about him? ellie black kani is an in law of — about him? ellie black kani is an in law of iran's _ about him? ellie black kani is an in law of iran's supreme i an in law of iran's supreme leader. he is considered someone who comes from an extremely clerical family in the islamic republic, he has served in the foreign ministry and on the supreme national council, and he is someone who will likely be an automatic contender for that will likely be an automatic contenderfor thatjob will likely be an automatic contender for thatjob now will likely be an automatic contender for that job now that the foreign minister is removed from the scene.— from the scene. iran and the united states _ from the scene. iran and the united states don't - from the scene. iran and the united states don't speak i from the scene. iran and the united states don't speak to | united states don't speak to each other of course, and when they have discussions it is through intermediaries. what do you think the state department will be doing? will they be

dusting off briefings about these potential candidates, and how difficult will it be to get to know whoever commends of these roles, if the west is confirmed, one of course they don't have these face—to—face talks? i don't have these face-to-face talks? ~ ., ., , talks? i think that of course the state — talks? i think that of course the state department i talks? i think that of course the state department will. talks? i think that of course l the state department will be looking into see who the next crop of officials in the islamic republic will be. but i don't think any us officials will be under the illusion that the policies of the islamic republic on the fundamentals of its nuclear programme, its regional policy will change, it won't. the irgc reports to the supreme leader, and the supreme leader remains the constitutional commander—in—chief. so yes, i think they will be paying attention to biographies, particularly in the succession progress —— process, but there's very the united states can do to affect that supreme leader's succession contest. i

think they willjust leader's succession contest. i think they will just be planning contingency scenarios with regard to what happens after khamenei dies. and it will be important for the state department to engage in robust public diplomacy targeting the iranian people, and speaking and supporting their aspirations for an end to the islamic republic, speaking to them as opposed to the clerical establishment will be very important, and i encourage the state department and their european counterparts to do so. on that point, regarding iranian society, we have seen these scenes of incredible, widespread protests in recent years, with regards to women's's rights, human rights and so on. many people i have been speaking to think that this won't necessarily usher in any change but of course we have to acknowledge society there is polarised. if we go to a period of mourning and then potential elections, do you think that this actually could

be something of a catalyst for some people to take to the streets once again? ed code, and that is — streets once again? ed code, and that is also _ streets once again? ed code, and that is also because i streets once again? ed code, and that is also because let'sj and that is also because let's not forget the underlying drivers that have led people to protest and call for an end to the republic have only gotten worse since the woman life freedom movement in 2022. repression has increased, has been more robust enforcement of the hijab dress restrictions for women, the islamic republic has been escalating in the region in the first direct attack from iranian soil against israel. so irani ends, there are many who are celebrating the helicopter crash. there are iranians who have been expressing support for israel in the current gaza conflict, and so this is a very explosive dynamic for the

iranian regime and they were likely want to carefully choreograph and control the situation, but there are unknowns here.- situation, but there are unknowns here. , , , unknowns here. very briefly, if ou unknowns here. very briefly, if you don't _ unknowns here. very briefly, if you don't mind, _ unknowns here. very briefly, if you don't mind, jason, - unknowns here. very briefly, if you don't mind, jason, for- you don't mind, jason, for proxies that iran supports, the likes of hamas, the who for example, what does this mean with regards to the war in israel? i with regards to the war in israel? ~ , israel? i think it will be status quo. _ israel? i think it will be status quo. let's i israel? i think it will be status quo. let's not i israel? i think it will be i status quo. let's not forget the irgc reports to the supreme leader, and the irgc supports and liaise with his hezbollah will serve the grant status will serve the grant status will remain the same regardless of whether president raisi is in his position.— in his position. good to get our in his position. good to get your assessment. - in his position. good to get your assessment. thank i in his position. good to get l your assessment. thank you. i want to bring you the reaction we have coming in from global leaders. white house spokesperson telling reporters presidentjoe biden had been

briefed on the situation but did not elaborate further. iraq has met prime minister instructing its interior minister to make resources available for iran. the president of azerbaijan who was with his iranian counterpart sending his country has led prayers to president raisi, and turkey sent a surveillance drone, which earlier identified a source of heat suspected to be the wreckage, and russia, one of iran's biggest allies, has also deployed a rescue team and said it was ready to investigate the cause of the crash. this footage from earlier, russia showing a rescue helicopter being loaded onto a plane, which was headed to the mountainous terrain. and china's foreign ministry said they were deeply concerned over iran's resident helicopter accident. other countries include the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, kuwait, as well as the united nations —— the united arab emirates.

the latest coming out of iran, the state television reporting that "there is no sign of life coming from president ebrahim raisi's helicopter". you can see the bbc�*s live page, and the reuters news agency has also reported the helicopter was completely burned in the crash, citing an iranian official. you are watching bbc news where we are covering the very latest developments coming out of iran, following the crash of that helicopter. i am a helena humphrey. thank you for your company. goodbye for now. hello, there. contrasting conditions as we head through this week. now, it's a dry and a warm start, with temperatures still above the seasonal average for most. lots of sunny spells around, but it will be turning cooler and then wetter and windier as we head through the middle part of the week. with heavy, more persistent outbreaks of rain, temperatures returning back to the seasonal average. now, this is how we're starting off monday morning.

a fresher feel to things. there are some patches of mist and fog around. lots of low cloud, particularly towards these eastern coastal areas. some fret and haar have moved in from the north sea. but the strong may sunshine will get to work on that low cloud and murk. despite the grey start, there'll be some sunny spells coming through — even, perhaps, for eastern areas of scotland, down through northeast england, where it's been cloudy and cool of late. a feed of cooler, drier air, but with the onshore breeze, it's always going to feel a little colder here. a scattering of showers across northern ireland, perhaps for north wales, and a few showers for southern england. but for most of us, it's dry, it's warm, and there will be a lot of sunshine around, as well. a few more showers, though, overnight on monday into tuesday, just pushing northwards and westwards. again, some more fret and haar towards these north sea—facing coasts. but then, in clearer spells out towards the east, temperatures could possibly drop as low as four degrees celsius. it's frost—free, but it's a cold start to the day for this time

of year, for some, and then into tuesday, there will be further showers. they'll be tracking their way northwards and westwards. a few more home—grown showers almost anywhere, too, with heavier downpours of rain possibly moving into the southeast of england. more showers across wales and northern ireland, but it'll still feel warm for the time of year. there'll still be some bright and sunny spells, possibly still 23 degrees celsius in southwest scotland. further south and east, in london, it's the chelsea flower show, as we head through much of the rest of the week. do be prepared for some lower temperatures and a bit of wet weather, at times, as well. this area of low pressure will be moving in from the near continent, as we head through wednesday and into thursday, tracking further northwards and westwards, so there will be some heavy downpours of rain, but still a lot of uncertainty, so do keep tuned to the forecast. but turning wetter, windier, cooler. temperatures closer to the seasonal average, as we head through wednesday and thursday, possibly turning a bit warmer again for the start of the bank holiday weekend.

bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. iranian state media says the helicopter that crashed while carrying the country's president has been found. it says there are no signs of life. ebrahim raisi was returning from a visit to azerbaijan. his foreign minister was also on board. also today, waiting for the truth: the public inquiry into the uk's infected blood scandal will publish

its final report later. and taiwan's new president is sworn in to office at a time of heightened tensions with china. hello. i'm ben thompson. welcome to bbc news. we start with breaking news from iran where state media says the helicopter which crashed while carrying president ebrahim raisi and several other senior officials has been located and there are no signs of life. it says there are no signs of life. the search has been taking place in a mountainous area in northwestern iran near tabriz. mr raisi was returning from a visit to azerbaijan where he had been accompanied by his foreign minister, hossein amir—abdollahian. the helicopter had been one of three flying together — this is the helicopter

taking off to return to iran.