A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the countryB次元官网网址檚 foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.
The likely crash came as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has also faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and womenB次元官网网址檚 rights B次元官网网址� making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.
Raisi was traveling in IranB次元官网网址檚 East Azerbaijan province. State TV said what it called a B次元官网网址渉ard landingB次元官网网址� happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Later, state TV put it farther east near the village of Uzi, but details remained contradictory.
Traveling with Raisi were IranB次元官网网址檚 Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of IranB次元官网网址檚 East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word B次元官网网址渃rash,B次元官网网址� but others referred to either a B次元官网网址渉ard landingB次元官网网址� or an B次元官网网址渋ncident.B次元官网网址�
Neither IRNA nor state TV offered any information on RaisiB次元官网网址檚 condition in the hours afterward. However, hard-liners urged the public to pray for him. State TV aired images of hundreds of the faithful, some with their hands outstretched in supplication, praying at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shiite IslamB次元官网网址檚 holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country. State televisionB次元官网网址檚 main channel aired the prayers nonstop.
B次元官网网址淭he esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog,B次元官网网址� Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in comments aired on state TV. B次元官网网址淰arious rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter.B次元官网网址�
IRNA called the area a B次元官网网址渇orestB次元官网网址� and the region is known to be mountainous as well. State TV aired images of SUVs racing through a wooded area and said they were being hampered by poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind. Rescuers could be seen walking in the fog and mist.
A rescue helicopter tried to reach the area where authorities believe RaisiB次元官网网址檚 helicopter was, but it couldnB次元官网网址檛 land due to heavy mist, emergency services spokesman Babak Yektaparast told IRNA. Late in the evening, TurkeyB次元官网网址檚 defense ministry announced that it had sent an unmanned arial vehicle and was preparing to send a helicopter with night vision capabilities to join the search-and-rescue efforts.
Long after the sun set, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi acknowledged that B次元官网网址渨e are experiencing difficult and complicated conditionsB次元官网网址� in the search.
B次元官网网址淚t is the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the presidentB次元官网网址檚 helicopter accident, but considering the coordinates of the incident site and the weather conditions, there is B次元官网网址榥oB次元官网网址� new news whatsoever until now,B次元官网网址� he wrote on the social platform X. B次元官网网址淚n these moments, patience, prayer and trust in relief groups are the way forward.B次元官网网址�
Khamenei himself also urged the public to pray.
B次元官网网址淲e hope that God the Almighty returns the dear president and his colleagues in full health to the arms of the nation,B次元官网网址� Khamenei said, drawing an B次元官网网址渁menB次元官网网址� from the audience he was addressing.
Raisi, 63, a hard-liner who formerly led the countryB次元官网网址檚 judiciary, is viewed as a prot茅g茅 of Khamenei and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after KhameneiB次元官网网址檚 death or resignation from the role.
Raisi had been on the border with Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam with AzerbaijanB次元官网网址檚 President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations built on the Aras River. The visit came despite chilly relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on AzerbaijanB次元官网网址檚 Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and AzerbaijanB次元官网网址檚 diplomatic relations with Israel, which IranB次元官网网址檚 Shiite theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.
Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts for them. Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. IRNA published images it described as Raisi taking off in what resembled a Bell helicopter, with a blue-and-white paint scheme previously seen in published photographs.
Raisi won IranB次元官网网址檚 2021 presidential election, a vote that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic RepublicB次元官网网址檚 history. Raisi is sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement 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 at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also has continued arming proxy groups in the Mideast, like YemenB次元官网网址檚 Houthi rebels and LebanonB次元官网网址檚 Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, mass protests in the country have raged for years. The most recent involved the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been earlier detained over allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities. The monthslong security crackdown that followed the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.
In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the B次元官网网址減hysical violenceB次元官网网址� that led to AminiB次元官网网址檚 death.
President Joe Biden was briefed by aides on the Iran crash, but administration officials have not learned much more than what is being reported publicly by Iran state media, said a senior administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
