TEHRAN, May 20 (MNA) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says he's deeply saddened by the martyrdom of his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raeisi."This is an extraordinary, unthinkable tragedy that has claimed a remarkable leader of a nation with whom South Africa enjoys strong bilateral relations," South African president Cyrill Ramaphosa stated, Sputnik reported.

In 2015, Ramaphosa visited Iran as deputy president.

In 2023, he welcomed Raisi to the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, where the Islamic Republic was formally invited to join.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have martyred in a helicopter crash in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

The helicopter carrying President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province.

It was transporting Raeisi, Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, and a member 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 Raeisi and his accompanying delegation were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

MP/PR