Iran's supreme leader appoints first VP as president after Raisi's death

Iran's supreme leader has appointed First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as country's acting president after a helicopter crash killed President Ebrahim Raisi.

Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, made the announcement in a condolence message he shared for Raisi's death in the crash Sunday. The helicopter was found Monday in northwestern Iran.

Khamenei also announced five days of mourning in the message.

Iran's three branches of government also held an extraordinary meeting on Monday, with Mokhber representing the executive branch, state TV said.

"We will follow the path of President Raisi in fulfilling assigned duties without any interruption," Mokhber said.

The three branches to which state TV referred are the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and other top officials were pronounced dead on Monday morning after a nightlong search operation hampered by bad weather.

Dozens of emergency rescue teams were dispatched to the mountainous area in northwestern Iran's East Azerbaijan province, where the incident took place on Sunday afternoon.