The grab, taken from distributed video footage published by Iranian state television network IRINN on May 19, 2024, shows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi riding a helicopter in the Jolfa region of the western province of East Azerbaijan. (IRINN/AFP)
Hopes are fading that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister will survive a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and frigid weather, Iranian officials said on Monday after search teams discovered the wreckage. Ta.
“President Raisi's helicopter was completely destroyed in the crash and unfortunately all passengers appear to have died,” the official told Reuters.
Rescue teams battled snowstorms and difficult terrain overnight to reach the wreckage in eastern Azerbaijan province early Monday morning.
Pirhossein Kolivand, director of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, told state television: “We have seen debris and the situation does not seem to be good.”
Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021 and has since taken office ordering tougher moral laws, overseeing a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushing hard for nuclear negotiations with world powers.
Anadolu Agency earlier reported on X that a Turkish drone had identified a heat source believed to be helicopter debris and shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities.
According to state news agency IRNA, Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear program, sought to reassure Iranians that there would be no turmoil in national politics.
Iran's military chief of staff has ordered all resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guards to be devoted to search and rescue operations.
Earlier, state television had canceled all regular programs broadcasting prayers for Raishi across the country.
Early Monday morning, rescue teams wearing bright jackets and flashlights could be seen crowding around a GPS device, searching on foot across a pitch-black mountainside in a snowstorm.
“The entire crash site is being thoroughly searched from top to bottom,” state media quoted a local military commander as saying. “The weather conditions in this area are very cold, rainy and foggy. The rain is gradually turning to snow.”
Several countries have expressed concern and offered assistance in any rescue efforts.
The White House said US President Joe Biden had been briefed on reports about the crash. He said China is deeply concerned. The European Union provided emergency satellite mapping technology.
Hardliner candidate to succeed Khamenei
The crash occurred at a time of growing dissent in Iran over various political, social and economic crises. Iran's clerical leaders are facing pressure from the international community over Tehran's nuclear program and deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Fires involving Iranian-aligned groups have broken out across the Middle East since Iran's ally Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, provoking Israel's attack on Gaza.
Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021 and has since taken office ordering tougher moral laws, overseeing a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushing hard for nuclear negotiations with world powers.
In Iran's dual political system, which is divided between the clergy and the government, the 85-year-old leader, who has been supreme leader since 1989, has the power to make all major policy decisions. Ayatollah Khamenei.
Many see him as a strong candidate to succeed Ayatollah Khamenei, who has long supported Raisi's key policies. Raisi's victory in a closely controlled 2021 election brought pragmatic Hassan Rouhani to power after eight years of negotiating a nuclear deal with world powers, including Washington. All branches of power were under the control of hardliners.
But Raisi's standing may have been hurt by widespread protests against clerical rule and his failure to rebuild Iran's economy, hobbled by Western sanctions.
Raisi was visiting the Azerbaijan border on Sunday for the inauguration ceremony of a joint project, the Kiz Karashi dam. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said earlier in the day that he had bid Raisi a “friendly farewell” and offered to help with the rescue.
