ISTANBUL

The Iranian government early Monday morning held an emergency meeting following the announcement of the death of the country's head of the state in a helicopter crash, the state-run news agency reported.

“The Iranian government has held an emergency meeting following the news that the wreckage of a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi was found in a remote region in Iran’s northwest,” the IRNA news agency said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, 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.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio