Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other officials were killed when their helicopter crashed in heavy fog in the mountains of northwest Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The helicopter was also carrying the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province and aides and bodyguards
Officials had earlier reported no signs of life when the aircraft was located after a lengthy search.
The helicopter had initially been reported as experiencing a "hard landing" on Sunday in a remote area near the border of Azerbaijan about 375 miles northwest of Tehran, the Associated Press reported.
It took emergency crews housrs to reach the scene due to foggy conditions, the IRNA reported.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, had prayed for the president during a meeting with families of the staff and commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
State TV later aired images of the faithful praying at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country.
President Joe Biden had been briefed on the Iran crash, but administration officials knew little beyond what was provided by Iranian media.
Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released drone footage showing what appeared to be what they "suspected to be wreckage of helicopter," the Associated Press reported.
