Rescue teams have discovered the suspected crash site of Iranian President Raisi’s helicopter. Bad weather makes rescue work more difficult. There is little hope that Raisi survived the accident.
After Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash, there appears to be little hope of retrieving him alive. The head of Iran’s Red Crescent said on state television that rescue teams were approaching the wreckage of the crashed helicopter. But the situation is “not good”.
There is little hope that Raisi is still alive, an Iranian government official told Reuters who did not want to be named. State television spoke of “no signs of life” at the crash site. “President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned out in the crash… unfortunately all passengers are feared dead,” the Iranian official said.
A Turkish drone had previously identified a heat source, which was said to be the wreckage of the helicopter. The coordinates of the possible crash site have been transmitted to the Iranian authorities, the Anadolu news agency reported via the short message service X.
Bad weather makes rescue operations difficult
In addition to Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was also on board. Bad weather makes the rescue operation difficult. “It’s dark and it has started to rain,” a state television reporter reported. Mud makes the search difficult. In addition, the mountain region is in fog.
According to earlier information from Iranian state media, 65 rescue teams were deployed overnight in the East Azerbaijan province in the northwest of the country, where the helicopter was last located. There were nine people on board the helicopter, including the governor of the provincial capital Tabris. The Iranian government refrained from releasing official information and warned against spreading unconfirmed information.
Raisi was returning from a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday afternoon along with Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian when their plane disappeared from radar. Together they inaugurated a dam in the neighboring country. The entourage then made its way back to Iran with a total of three helicopters, but the presidential plane did not arrive at its destination.
Emergency Cabinet meeting
As Iranian media reported, the scene of the accident is near Jolfa – more than 600 kilometers from the capital Tehran, close to the border with Azerbaijan. In addition to the rescue teams, the Iranian armed forces were also involved in the search. In addition to Turkey, several other countries also offered their help in the rescue operation.
Iran’s cabinet met for an emergency meeting in the evening. First Vice President Mohammed Mochber chaired the late evening meeting. According to protocol, he would replace Raisi as head of government in the event of his death. According to the constitution, new elections must then take place within 50 days.
religious leaders Khamenei calls for prayers for Raisi
Religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the nation to pray for the president. He hopes for Raisi’s return, the state news agency Irna quoted him as saying. At the same time, the head of state assured that the incident would not affect government business. “The Iranian nation should not worry. There will be no interruption in the country’s activities,” Khamenei said, according to Irna.
According to the constitution, Raisi is head of government, but he is considered a rather weak president – especially since Khamenei, as head of state, has the more powerful position and has the final say in all strategic matters.
Pictures of the search operation in the mountainous region can be seen on Iranian television.
Arch-conservative Hardliner Raisi in office since 2021
Raisi was sworn in as the new president in August 2021. The arch-conservative cleric officially became the successor to Hassan Rouhani, who was no longer allowed to run after two terms in office. As the leading candidate of the political hardliners and the preferred candidate and protégé of the religious leader Khamenei, Raisi won the presidential election with almost 62 percent of the vote.
Iran has been in the headlines more recently, also because there seemed to be a threat of a regional war with its arch-enemy Israel. During Raisi’s term in office, the Islamic Republic deepened its economic and military cooperation with China and Russia, and relations with the West cooled, among other things because of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. The West also accused the leadership in Tehran of serious human rights violations. Nevertheless, just a few days ago there were again reports of new, indirect talks with the USA in the Gulf state of Oman.
Benjamin Weber, ARD Istanbul, tagesschau, May 19, 2024 9:04 p.m