Tragedy amid tension in Middle East

DUBAI — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister were found dead on Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic republic without two key figures as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei quickly named the first vice-president, Mohammad Mokhber, as caretaker.

"The Iranian nation has lost a sincere and valuable servant," said 85-year-old Khamenei, whom Raisi had been expected by many observers to one day succeed.