Rescue efforts are continuing is search of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian which suffered a “hard landing” in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province a few hours ago.
Adverse weather conditions, including heavy fog, are hampering rescue efforts and the helicopter is still missing as
Iran’s Fars News Agency calls on Iranians to pray for President Raisi.
Rescue teams are expected to reach the helicopter shortly, according to Hamid Monjem, the head of the Red Crescent Society in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran.
“Armed forces also came to the rescue and there are three drone units in the area, but they cannot operate due to weather conditions,” he reported.
Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, has issued an order for all the equipment and capacity of the army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, and law enforcement forces to be used to find the helicopter.
“The armed forces, the army, the IRGC and police command were all present in the area from the initial hours,” he was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency.
Government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said Mohammad Mokhber had travelled to Tabriz along with other members of the government.
Jahromi added that a government cabinet meeting has been held, with the latest reports on the missing helicopter presented.
A spokesperson for the US State Department says the United States is watching reports of a possible hard landing of a helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister.
The White House added that President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident.
Iran and the US have had tense relations for years, particularly following the US’s unilateral withdrawal from a nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018.
The US has also backed Israel as the latter battles Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and when Israel and Iran directly exchanged attacks last month.
In case of a sudden death, the Iranian constitution says the first vice president – who is now Mohammad Mokhber – would take the job of president, with the approval of the supreme leader.
According to the Iranian political hierarchy, the head of the state is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the president is considered the head of the government, the second-in-command.
When the second-in-command is dead, then the first vice president is going to be in charge and in 50 days the country needs to go to an election to elect a new president.
Raisi, seen as a conservative politician is a “heavyweight” in Iranian politics, according to Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor at Qatar University.
Zweiri added that Raisi is thought of as a potential successor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The helicopter crashed close to a copper mine called Sungun. It’s located in between Jolfa and Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and it’s roughly between 70km (43 miles) to 100km (62 miles) away from the city of Tabriz, one of the largest cities in Iran and also the city that the president of Iran and foreign minister were headed toward.
Agency Report
