India declares state mourning for Iranian prez

New Delhi: India on Monday declared one day of state mourning on May 21 as a mark of respect to Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

“On the day of mourning (Tuesday), the National Flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings where the National Flag is flown regularly and there will be no official entertainment on the day,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Raisi and Abdollahian were among nine people who died after their helicopter crashed in Iran’s mountainous north-west region while they were returning from the Azerbaijan border after flagging off joint projects in the region.