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Azerbaijan: The helicopter of Iran‘ (Iran) s President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian has crashed in the mountains of Jofa region of the western province of East Azerbaijan. The 63-year-old Iranian President was on a visit to this province today. There he inaugurated a dam project on the border of both countries with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev. Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei has asked citizens ‘not to worry’ after Raisi’s helicopter crash. After this information came, world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about Ibrahim Raisi’s safety.
Two people were contacted
Raisi’s helicopter was part of a fleet of three helicopters. The helicopter has not been found yet due to dense fog and bad weather. The other two helicopters in the fleet have reached their destination safely. Raisi’s helicopter has not yet been found. An Iranian official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian were “in danger after the helicopter crash”. The official said, “We are still hopeful, but the information coming from the crash site is very worrying.” There is no news about Raisi’s condition. However, sources said that contact has been established with two people on board the missing helicopter.
Trouble due to bad weather
Bad weather is complicating rescue efforts. More than 40 rescue teams using search dogs and drones have been sent to the scene. State media footage showed the IRCS team and other rescue officials walking up a mountain slope in dense fog to locate the helicopter. Footage of people praying for Raisi in his hometown was also broadcast. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said one of the helicopters “had to make a hard landing due to bad weather conditions” and it was “difficult to establish communication” with the plane. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to the incident and said, “Extremely concerned by reports regarding President Raisi’s helicopter today. We stand in solidarity with the Iranian people in this hour of crisis and pray for the well-being of the President and his entourage.”
Azerbaijan and Iraq offer help
The president of Iran’s neighbour Azerbaijan has offered to help rescue teams locate the Iranian president’s helicopter. “Today, after bidding a friendly farewell to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, we are deeply saddened by reports of a helicopter carrying the top delegation crashing in Iran,” Aliyev said on social media. “The Republic of Azerbaijan is ready to offer any necessary assistance,” he said. A government spokesperson said Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani “directed the Ministry of Interior, the Iraqi Red Crescent and other relevant authorities to offer available resources to the Islamic Republic of Iran to assist in the search for the Iranian president’s helicopter.”
“We are closely monitoring reports of a possible hard landing in Iran of a helicopter carrying the Iranian President and Foreign Minister,” a US State Department spokesperson said in a statement. President Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president has been briefed on the situation.
Ebrahim Raisi came to power after the presidential election in 2021 and is close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. His tenure saw one of the largest protests in Iran in many years since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In 2022, an Iranian woman Mahsa Amini died in police custody, sparking massive civil unrest and months of brutal government crackdown. He came to power after an election in which more than half of voters were absent and many popular candidates were barred from contesting. He replaced Hassan Rouhani, whose biggest achievement was the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which gave Iran relief from international sanctions. He had criticised the Rouhani regime after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed punitive sanctions on Iran.
