US defense chief says he does not see broader security impacts after Iranian president's death

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday said he does not see any broader security impacts of the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

During a briefing with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Austin called the crash as "very unfortunate."

"We continue to monitor the situation but we don't have any insights into the cause of the accident at this point," he said.

The defense chief further said that the US will await the outcome of Iran's investigation into the crash.

"In terms of our force posture, I don't have any announcements to make and again, this is something that we'll continue to watch and I don't necessarily see any broader general security impacts at this point in time," he added.

After a nightlong search operation hampered by bad weather, Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other top officials were declared dead on Monday morning.

Dozens of emergency rescue teams were dispatched to the mountainous area in northwestern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, where the accident occurred Sunday afternoon.

According to the Iranian Constitution, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will assume powers of the presidency, and elections be held within 50 days.