Tragic Helicopter Crash Claims Lives of Iranian President and Delegation

The Islamic Republic of Iran announced the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian, and their accompanying delegation in a helicopter crash over Eastern Azerbaijan.

The Iranian news agency Mehr confirmed the martyrdom of President Raisi and his delegation, including Foreign Minister Abdollahian. The agency emphasized that the Iranian President and his companions were martyred in an air accident while performing their duty in northwestern Iran.

The Iranian agency “Tasnim” reported, citing the Red Crescent, the discovery of the wreckage of the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Governor-General of Eastern Azerbaijan, Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, representative of the Leader of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei.

As rescue teams arrived at the site, Iranian television confirmed that there were “no signs of life” in the wreckage of the President’s helicopter. The helicopter that crashed was one of three, carrying President Raisi and his delegation, including Foreign Minister Abdollahian and other officials.

The President’s helicopter and his delegation experienced a hard landing while transporting them to Eastern Azerbaijan province. According to Iranian television, President Raisi’s helicopter was forced to land due to poor weather conditions, and contact was lost with it at 1:30 PM, according to Mohsen Mansouri, the Executive Assistant to the Iranian President.

Search operations to find the helicopter’s wreckage faced many obstacles due to fog and heavy rain, with temperatures reaching 15 degrees below zero.

Before the accident, the Iranian President and his delegation were on a visit to Azerbaijan, where President Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, inaugurated the “Qız Qalası” dam on Sunday. The dam was built jointly by the two neighboring countries on the Aras River.