Late president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi. Photo: Ahamad Moeini Jam/IRNA.
It has been confirmed that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan.
His entire entourage, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Governor of East Azerbaijan Malek Rahmati, also perished, state media Press TV reported early today, May 20.
The Iranian head of state had traveled to the border region after joining Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday, May 18, to inaugurate a dam on the Aras river at the border of the two countries. Raisi had pledged to visit each of Iran’s 30 provinces at least once a year, and regularly traveled around the country.
Reports of a “crash landing” began circulating on Sunday afternoon, with Iranian state media citing Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi. According to IRNA news agency, the weather was foggy and cloudy in the area where the presidential helicopter was believed to have gone down.
Raisi was traveling in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter. Low visibility and the impassibility of the area made search operations difficult, IRNA reported.
Rescue teams launched a search operation within an hour of the incident, but adverse weather conditions hampered the process. They finally managed to locate the crash site early on Monday morning with the help of Turkish surveillance drones.
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The wreckage was discovered in a wooded area on a mountain slope near the city of Jolfa. The aircraft was severely damaged and charred, and nobody on board survived, the Iranian Red Crescent Society announced.
With Raisi’s passing, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will take office as interim president for 50 days until new elections are held.
Raisi, a representative of Iran’s conservative wing, was elected president in 2021. Before assuming the presidency, he had worked his way up from prosecutor and deputy prosecutor in Tehran in the 1980s and 1990s all the way to attorney general, and later chief justice.
He was 63 years old at the time of his passing.
(RT) with Orinoco Tribune content
