اردو 
What happened in Syria?
Opposition forces have taken control of the capital after a significant offensive. Here is how it unravelled.
The Israeli government had nothing to do with the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed official.
Raisi and several other Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were killed when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in the mountainous East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran. After more than 10 hours of searching, hampered by fog and rain, the president and his aides were confirmed dead.
The head of state visited the border region on Saturday after joining Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the dam's opening ceremony. Raisi had pledged to visit each of Iran's 30 provinces at least once a year and traveled regularly around the country.
His death sparked speculation that Israel, Iran's longtime foe, may have been behind the accident. On Monday, an Israeli official, requesting anonymity, denied that his country was involved in the disaster, telling Reuters: "It's not us."
The latest wave of tensions between Israel and Iran began on April 1 following an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus. The airstrike killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, including two senior generals. In response, the Iranian government launched numerous drones and missiles at Israel, and Israel responded with several drones and missiles.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly vowed to annihilate, destroy and destroy the "Zionist regime" called Israel. In response to the news of Raisi's death, Israel's Minister of Culture and Heritage Amichai Eliyahu posted an image of a wine glass on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, "Long live it."
Avigdor Liberman, a former defense minister and leader of the right-wing opposition Yisrael Beiteinu, told the news site Ynet that Israel "has no intention of shedding tears over the death of the Iranian president."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has declared five days of mourning in the country for the victims of the plane crash. Following Khamenei's approval on Monday, Raisi's deputy, Mohammad Mokbel, became president. Mr Mokbel will remain in office for 50 days until elections are held.
