Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said calls for negotiations by “bully states” are aimed at dominating others, not resolving issues, after US President Donald Trump urged him to reach a nuclear deal.

Funeral ceremonies are set to begin on Tuesday for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, as authorities probe what caused the aircraft to smash into the side of a remote mountainside during foggy weather on Sunday morning.

Raisi’s death alongside other high-ranking officials, including the country’s foreign minister, has left the Islamic Republic’s hardline establishment facing an uncertain future as it navigates rising regional tensions and domestic discontent.

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and others were confirmed dead after their helicopter crashed on Sunday, Iranian officials and state media said Monday, disrupting the power structure in Tehran as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini continues his increasingly aggressive campaign for regional dominance.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, depriving Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of a longtime ally as Tehran angles for regional dominance through armed militias that are fighting the U.S. and Israel.

Raisi’s death was announced early Monday, after state television reported Sunday afternoon that a helicopter carrying him and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had made a “difficult landing” in northwestern Iran.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather, Iran's state television confirmed on Monday, after search teams located the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province.

The head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pir Hossein Kolivand, earlier told state television that "no sign" of life was detected amongst the passengers of the helicopter that crashed on Sunday afternoon.

"Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet," state TV reported.

Democracies tend to be more effective in speaking to their own people than in communicating with foreign audiences. Part of the reason is that public diplomacy, the practice of engaging and informing the people of other nations, is still considered an elite practice confined to the marble halls of the State Department and foreign ministries.

But public diplomacy — because it is so people-centric — can make the difference between long-term peace and global upheaval.

Over the past three weeks, young female protesters in Iran have led the biggest show of resistance against the country’s theocratic regime in more than a decade. US and European leaders have rightly voiced support for them. As the regime intensifies its brutal response, the West should do what it can to ensure the movement survives.

Iranian protests are in their third week. What began in outrage over a woman murdered in police custody has spread across the country. Protests have captured the popular imagination. Videos go viral of women cutting their hair, burning headscarves, or singing. Chants of "Death to the Dictator" are undeniable. That Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei must rely on the Lebanese Hezbollah to quell unrest suggests desperation.

Iran's supreme leader offered his staunch support Tuesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country's war in Ukraine. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demonized the U.S.-led NATO alliance and said the West was really working to prevent the growth of an "independent and strong" Russia.