Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is feared dead after a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan on Sunday put his “life at risk”, officials confirmed.
It comes as state media claimed allied Russia is sending a 50-man specialist mountain rescue unit to help in the search. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed this in a Telegram post.
Rescuers were struggling last night to locate the Iranian president after the helicopter he was traveling in crashed due to bad weather.
An Iranian official said the lives of President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, among others, were “at risk.”
The men were aboard one of three helicopters traveling in convoy over remote mountainous terrain shrouded in dense fog when the plane crashed.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is feared dead after a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan on Sunday put his “life at risk”, officials confirmed.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (left) was photographed moments before the helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan that put his “life at risk.”
He was spookily seen looking out the window of the plane, which was traveling in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan near Jolfa, about 375 miles northwest of Tehran when it crashed.
Rain and lack of roads were hampering rescue attempts, the official said.
The mysterious accident immediately raised tensions around the world. Iran is a major backer of Hamas, which has been under relentless attack in Gaza since terrorists launched the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Tehran is also an arms supplier to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and some propagandists in Moscow linked the president’s disappearance to the attempted assassination of Slovak pro-Kremlin leader Robert Fico last week.
Some members of the president’s entourage on board were reportedly able to communicate with rescue teams after the crash, “raising hopes that the incident could have ended without casualties,” according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Last night, the head of the Red Crescent relief and rescue operation said the “possible location of the crashed helicopter” had been found.
Initial reports claimed that Raisi’s plane had been forced to make a “hard landing” in a forested area north of the city of Varzeghan, in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Last night, however, regime loyalists gathered to pray for his well-being as prospects for a rescue appeared to dwindle.
Rescuers were struggling last night to locate the Iranian president after the helicopter he was traveling in crashed in bad weather.
Rescuers raced through a misty rural forest where their helicopter was believed to be.
Neither the Islamic Republic News Agency nor state television could offer any information on Raisi’s condition or whereabouts, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei urged people “not to worry.”
An Iranian official said: “We still have hope, but the information coming from the crash site is very worrying.” A message was posted on Raisi’s Instagram page asking his followers to pray for his safety.
While most commentators said dense fog could be to blame, Russian sources pushed baseless conspiracy theories that blamed the West.
Vladimir Putin’s propagandist Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state broadcaster RT, issued an extraordinary tirade linking the incident to the recent Fico shooting in Slovakia. Iran is a close ally of Russia that has supplied large quantities of drones and kamikaze missiles to Putin, and there may be concerns that a new president could change the terms of this partnership.
Raisi and his delegation were in Azerbaijan to celebrate the inauguration of a new dam.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev wrote online: “We were deeply concerned by the news of the forced landing of a helicopter carrying the most important delegation in Iran. Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the delegation accompanying him.
“As a neighbor, friend and brother country, the Republic of Azerbaijan is ready to offer any necessary assistance.”
Conspiracy theorists claimed that Israel could be involved and noted that Azerbaijan is one of Israel’s few Muslim allies. Both Azerbaijan and Iraq offered to help in the search. The incident comes a month after Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack against Israel.
Rescue vehicles participate in the search for the crashed helicopter in which President Raisi was traveling
There was contact with a passenger and a crew member aboard the helicopter, according to Iranian state television.
All Iranian army and guard resources were used in the search efforts for the helicopter.
Raisi is seen as a hardline cleric who has overseen the tightening of moral laws (and the crackdown on resulting protests) since taking office in 2021.
Mahsa Amini, 22, was detained by morality police for wearing an “incorrect” hijab in 2022 and died three days later in hospital, sparking mass riots.
Since then, security forces have killed hundreds more and thousands have been detained. Raisi has been considered one of two favorites to succeed Ayatollah Khamenei, 85, along with Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said he is praying for President Ebrahim Raisi’s safety.
Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain spare parts for them.
Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
President Joe Biden has been briefed about the incident, according to the White House, and the United States is “closely monitoring” the reports.
Iraq has offered to help Iran in the search and rescue mission.
State media claimed that allied Russia is sending a 50-man specialist mountain rescue unit to help in the search. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed this in a Telegram post.
Tehran is an arms supplier to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and some propagandists in Moscow linked the president’s disappearance to the attempted assassination of Slovak pro-Kremlin leader Robert Fico last week.
Hamas issued a statement following the helicopter crash expressing “great concern” over the incident.
‘In this painful incident, we express our full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, its leaders, its government and its people, and ask Almighty Allah to protect and guarantee the safety of the Iranian President and his accompanying delegation, and to keep all harm to the brotherly Iranian people,” the militant group stated.
Raisi’s death would mark a monumental moment for Iran and the Middle East region, as there are fears of instability among the Iranian regime.
He won Iran’s 2021 presidential election, a vote that had the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history.
He is sanctioned by the United States in part for his role in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.
Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections.
Iran has armed Russia in its war against Ukraine and launched a massive drone and missile attack against Israel amid its conflict in Gaza.
It has also continued to arm allied groups in the Middle East, such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.