DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – He helicopter that led to the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state television reported. At the moment no further details have been given.
Raisi was traveling in East Azerbaijan province. State television said the incident occurred near Jolfa, a city on the country’s border with Azerbaijan, about 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
They were traveling with Raisi, the foreign minister of Iran, Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported. A local official used the word “crashed” when describing the incident, but acknowledged, in statements to an Iranian newspaper, that he had not yet reached the scene.
Neither IRNA nor state television gave any information about Raisi’s condition.
“The esteemed president and his company were traveling back in some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to bad weather and fog,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in comments carried by the state television. “Various rescue teams are on their way to the region, but due to bad weather and fog, it could take a while to reach the helicopter.”
He added: “The region is a bit steep and it is difficult to make contact. “We are waiting for the rescue teams to arrive at the scene and give us more information.”
Rescuers are trying to reach the scene, the television station reported, but they are having difficulties due to the bad weather. Heavy rain and winds were reported in that area.
Raisi had been in Azerbaijan earlier Sunday to inaugurate a dam alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. It is the third dam that the two countries have built on the Aras River.
Iran uses different types of helicopters, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts. Its military fleet largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Raisi, 63, is a hardline politician who was previously president of the judiciary. He is considered a protégé of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and some speculate that he could replace Khamenei, 85, if he resigns or dies.
Raisi won the 2021 elections, which had the lowest citizen participation in the history of the Islamic Republic. Raisi is sanctioned by the United States in part for his role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.
low rise, Iran is now enriching uranium to near war-grade levels, and has been hindering international inspections. Iran has given weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine and has also launched a wave of rockets against Israel in the midst of Israel’s war against the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It has also been arming militias that it controls in various parts of the region, such as the Houthis in Yemen or Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Source: AP
