Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner long seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border, officials and state media said on Monday. The charred wreckage of the helicopter that crashed on Sunday carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was found early on Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.
Video: Footage shows the crash site of a helicopter that carried Iran president / EPA/Iranian state TV (IRIB)
"President Raisi, the foreign minister, and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash," a senior Iranian official told Reuters, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Raisi's death was later confirmed in a statement on social media by Vice President Mohsen Mansouri and on state television. State TV reported that images from the site showed the aircraft slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official told Reuters, and rescuers were struggling to reach the site of the incident but on Monday morning rescuers, according to CNN, said there were no survivors at the site. After reaching the crash site hampered by fog and debilitating terrain, rescuers confirmed to state media that none of the nine passengers, including the president and the foreign minister, came out alive.
"President Raisi's helicopter was completely burned in the crash ... unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead," the official told Reuters. Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday. "We can see the wreckage and the situation does not look good," the head of Iran's Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV.
"With the discovery of the crash site, no signs of life have been detected among the helicopter's passengers." Earlier on Sunday, an official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian were "at risk following the helicopter crash", which happened on the way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran's northwest.
Iran's state TV is airing a live broadcast of prayers held at Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad for Raisi's health. pic.twitter.com/JA5R6bgYZS
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) May 19, 2024
Some reports indicate that communication has been lost, with the anti-Iranian outlet tweeting, based on the Revolutionary Guards outlet Fars that a person "who was aboard Raisi's chopper, had a brief phone call following the incident, but all their phones are now out of service." According to the official state agency IRNA, the helicopter carrying Raisi and several officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, made a hard landing on Sunday, and other reports indicate there were foggy conditions in the area.
Rescue teams are using drones to find the Iranian president's chopper in an area between Kalibar and Varzaghan regions in northwestern Iran, said the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society's Relief and Rescue Department.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) May 19, 2024
There were 3 helicopters in this convoy, and two helicopters carrying some ministers and officials arrived safely at their destination, Iran's Tasnim news agency said. The agency said that the Iranian President, accompanied by his Azerbaijani counterpart inaugurated on Sunday a water dam on the border between the two countries. The incident happened after the end of the opening ceremony in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan.
The news comes amid high tensions between Iran and its archenemy Israel, just weeks after Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Israel in retaliation for an alleged assassination of an Iranian general. The Iranian missile barrage was soon followed by an apparent Israeli counterstrike on a site in Isfahan, reportedly using three missiles that targeted a site not far from one of its main nuclear facilities. Israel has not directly acknowledged the attack but has repeatedly warned it will take action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
For years, Iran and Israel have engaged in a shadow war, with Iran supporting militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas that oppose Israel. Israel has carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists in an effort to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions. Both sides have warned of open conflict if the other crosses certain red lines.
Raisi, 63, was elected president at the second attempt in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers. Many see him as burnishing his credentials to become Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's successor as Iran's Supreme Leader.
