Following Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's death in Sunday's helicopter crash near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, Iran has seen mixed reactions to the president and foreign minister's unexpected departure.
On one hand, regime supporters were seen praying for the president's well-being while many Iranians mocked the president's demise on social media.
Some of the most popular hashtags on Iranian social networks in recent hours include "pray," "surely the Zionists did it" and "why was the foreign minister in the helicopter with him?"
Footage from Iran showed regime supporters praying for the president's well-being while many Iranians rejoiced over Raisi's death on social media. An exiled Iranian journalist shared a video of the daughters of Minoo Majidi, an Iranian woman who was killed during the hijab protests in 2022, raising a toast to the president's death.
The helicopter incident occurred in a heavily forested area near Jolfa, a city close to the Azerbaijani border, approximately 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Tehran. Rescue teams operated in harsh weather conditions, under heavy fog, rain and even snow.
Iranians celebrate Raisi's death
"God created this fog, and now they won't find him ever again," one social media user opposing Tehran's mullah regime wrote before the charred wreckage of the helicopter had been found.
"Hopefully, just as they haven't found the helicopter until now, I wish this entire regime will disappear," another user wrote.
"Hopefully foxes will eat them all at night, there are also many bears in the area," a third commenter wrote.
Other comments read, "Finally, we got rid of this murderer, pray that he dies," and "Surely someone else in the regime planned the assassination so he could become president in his place. This devil belongs in hell."
A social media poll asked users what they thought was the cause of the crash: technical malfunction, domestic sabotage or external sabotage. Most voters believed that the reason for the crash was domestic sabotage. "There's no need to look for him, you'll find him in the morning," and "Bye-bye sir!" read some of the comments under the poll.
Meanwhile, supporters of the regime expressed concern for Raisi's well-being. "Pray as much as you can so that by the end of the night, we find them all healthy," wrote one user.
Several users questioned whether Israel was involved in the crash of the Iranian president's helicopter. One commenter asked: "Why does the president get on such an old helicopter? Surely they tampered with its parts." Many Iranians believe the president was murdered and became a martyr in his death.