Iranian state tv reported there was “no signal of life” on the crash web site of a helicopter that was transporting President Ebrahim Raisi and went down within the northwest of the nation.
Iranian emergency crews earlier situated the positioning of the crash and reported seeing wreckage, state media mentioned. The placement is close to Tavil village in northwest Iran.
Dense fog within the area had sophisticated the search effort, state media reported. Iran’s Supreme Chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged folks to hope for Raisi’s well being and mentioned there “received’t be any disruption to the nation’s affairs” on account of the incident, in accordance with a press release proven on state TV.
Raisi, an ultraconservative cleric in his 60s who received Iran’s presidential election in 2021, has been seen as a favourite to ultimately succeed Supreme Chief Khamenei.
The incident comes at a time of turmoil within the Center East over the struggle in Gaza between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas — designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union. It has edged Iran and Israel near all-out battle and led to different Tehran-supported teams, together with the Houthis in Yemen and Shiite militias in Iraq, to assault US bases and business ships within the Purple Sea.
Raisi’s air fleet consisted of three helicopters with high-ranking officers together with Overseas Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the semi-official Tasnim information company reported. Amirabdollahian was believed to be on board Raisi’s plane on the time.
The US is intently following experiences of the incident, a State Division spokesperson mentioned with out additional remark. Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer mentioned Sunday that intelligence companies have knowledgeable him there isn’t a proof of foul play, NBC reported.
‘Extraordinarily Troublesome’ Search
Virtually 10 hours into the search, it was “extraordinarily tough” due to darkness and heavy fog and rain, Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Providers, instructed state TV. Earlier, Iran’s inside minister, Ahmad Vahidi, mentioned discovering the president’s helicopter was prone to take time due to the antagonistic situations.
Turkey’s state catastrophe administration company, AFAD, mentioned Iran requested a search and rescue helicopter with evening imaginative and prescient capabilities. Some 32 rescue and analysis personnel in addition to six automobiles have been additionally despatched to Iran, AFAD mentioned in a put up on X.
The Turkish ministry of protection mentioned it dispatched an Akinci drone in response to a request from Iran. It additionally mentioned a Cougar helicopter stays on alert to be deployed relying on climate situations.
The European Union activated its fast response mapping service following a request for assist from Iran, the bloc’s Commissioner for Disaster Administration, Janez Lenarčič, mentioned in a put up on X.
Iranian tv aired stay footage of scores of ambulances amid heavy rain and fog. A reporter, stationed close to the rescue groups, talked about the challenges in reaching the crash web site, citing impassable roads as a consequence of mud and the distant nature of the realm.
The published additionally confirmed pilgrims praying for Raisi on the holy shrine in Mashhad, the northeastern metropolis the place Raisi was born.
Others believed to be on board Raisi’s helicopter included the governor of East Azerbaijan province and the supreme chief’s consultant within the metropolis of Tabriz, Iranian media mentioned.
Each Raisi and Amirabdollahian oversaw the restoration of Iran’s diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia by means of a Chinese language-brokered deal introduced in March 2023. But it surely was a time when there was additionally a stalemate in negotiations to revive Iran’s nuclear take care of world powers and raise financial sanctions.
Earlier Sunday, Raisi met his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev to inaugurate a collectively developed dam on the border between the 2 nations. The incident occurred whereas Raisi was getting back from Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Raisi’s ascension to the presidency got here after eight years below the relative average Hassan Rouhani, who was central to the nuclear accord that former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from in 2018.
The US exit from the deal empowered Iran’s hardliners, who have been at all times important of the settlement. Raisi was sanctioned in 2019 by the Trump administration, which cited his position in a lethal crackdown a decade earlier on protesters alleging vote fraud.
He’s additionally accused by rights teams of being instrumental within the mass execution of hundreds of political dissidents within the late Nineteen Eighties. In 2018, London-based Amnesty Worldwide mentioned he presided over a “dying fee” and referred to as on the United Nations to research him for crimes towards humanity.
Raisi’s first Vice President is Mohammad Mokhber, who has represented Iran on many current abroad journeys and who like many senior Iranian officers is topic to US sanctions.
