Iranian President's Life 'at Risk' After Helicopter Crash: Report

Iranian President's life 'at risk' following helicopter crash: Report

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday. According to state media, at least five rescue teams were approaching the incident area.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's "life at risk" following helicopter crash, official says. Raisi was in Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam. At least five rescue teams are getting closer to the incident area. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other senior officials crashed in Jolfa in northwestern Iran on Sunday, a news report said.

An official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were "at risk following the helicopter crash," which happened on the way back from a visit to Iran's border with Azerbaijan, news agency Reuters reported.

After the incident, at least five rescue teams were approaching the incident area, as reported by state media. News agency IRNA reported that at least two members of President Raisi’s entourage have been in contact with rescue teams.

Earlier, it was reported that the helicopter had made a "hard landing," but news agency IRNA has now reported that the helicopter "suffered a crash with no information available yet on potential injuries or damage."

New rescue teams and some mountaineers have joined the search and rescue operation, according to a report in IRNA.

The report added, "The weather is bitterly cold; due to the poor weather conditions, air search and helicopter flights are not possible, and the rescue is being carried out on the ground."

The incident reportedly occurred as a result of dense fog in the region.

Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has confirmed that a helicopter carrying the president made a hard landing in Jolfa, nearly 600 km away from Tehran, in East Azarbaijan, according to Press TV.

There were three helicopters in this convoy, two of which were carrying ministers and officials, and they arrived at their destination safely.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, and other officials and bodyguards were traveling with Raisi in the helicopter, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Authorities said bad weather conditions have made it difficult for rescue teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society to reach the area where the incident happened, Press TV reported. Drone units are also assisting with the emergency operation.

The chief of staff of Iran's army ordered all the resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guard to be put to use in search and rescue operations, news agency Reuters reported.

Raisi was in Azerbaijan early on May 19 to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, The Associated Press reported. The dam is the third one that the two nations built on the Aras River.

The visit came despite chilly relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic relations with Israel, which Iran’s Shiite theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.

State TV aired images showing people praying at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country, for the well-being of the president.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power in the country, sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern after the helicopter crash and said in a post on X, "Deeply concerned by reports regarding President Raisi’s helicopter flight today. We stand in solidarity with the Iranian people in this hour of distress, and pray for the well-being of the President and his entourage."