President Raisi confirmed dead in helicopter crash, Iran’s state TV

TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi along with his foreign minister Amirabdollahian have been confirmed dead in a helicopter crash, Iran’s state TV confirmed on Monday.

Accordin to Iran’s State TV “all passengers of helicopter carrying Iranian President, foreign minister were martyred” when their helicopter crashed as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog.

Raisi’s death was later confirmed in a statement on social media by Vice President Mohsen Mansouri and on state television.

State TV reported that images from the site showed the aircraft slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash.

The helicopter’s passengers, including Ebrahim Raeisi, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to East Azarbaijan province, along with several other people were martyred in the incident.

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.

Since Sunday afternoon, 40 separate rescue teams have been dispatched to the forested and mountainous area.

Harsh weather has made the region accessible only by ground teams, as aerial approaches are unfeasible.

The mountainous terrain and natural obstacles rendered communication with the president’s entourage nearly impossible.

Location of helicopter carrying President Raeisi spotted

After hours of search operations, Head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Pirhossein Kolivand said that the location of the crashed helicopter carrying President Raeisi was spotted.

There was no sign of surviving passengers, he added.

Red Crescent search and rescue teams have reached the crash site of the helicopter carrying the president Raeisi, Kolivand said on Monday morning.

73 rescue teams are present in the search area equipped with advanced and specialized equipment.

The search operation has continued since yesterday evening despite the difficult weather conditions.

PM Shehbaz ‘waiting with anxiety for good news’ regarding Iranian President Raisi

Ebrahim Raisi, 63, was born in the holy city of Mashhad. He was elected president in 2021. Before that, he served as the judiciary chief, the general prosecutor and the vice-chairman of the Assembly of Experts. Raisi was also a member of the Expediency Council.

In September 2023, on the occasion of Government Week in Iran, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei praised the Raisi administration’s performance in various sectors including economy and foreign policy.