Worldsfeed News Desk: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials were confirmed dead on Monday after their helicopter crashed in a mountainous region in the northwest of the country, according to Iranian state media.
State TV initially reported “no sign of life” at the crash site, where the helicopter carrying 63-year-old Raisi, 60-year-old Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials had made a “hard landing” on Sunday.
The crash occurred in a steep valley, with no immediate cause provided by state media. As daylight broke on Monday, rescuers spotted the helicopter from a distance of approximately 1.25 miles, reported Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The officials had been missing for over 12 hours before the helicopter was found.
Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province when the helicopter made what state TV described as a “hard landing” near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan, about 375 miles northwest of Tehran. Later reports indicated the crash occurred further east near the village of Uzi, though details remained inconsistent.
The governor of East Azerbaijan province, other officials, and bodyguards were also on board, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Descriptions of the incident varied, with some calling it a “crash” and others referring to it as a “hard landing” or an “incident.”
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated on state TV that the helicopter made a hard landing due to bad weather and fog. “The 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,” he said.
This incident comes after Iran, under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack against Israel last month. Iran has also been facing years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy in response to a struggling economy and attacks on women’s rights.
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