According to reports, the wreckage of the crashed helicopter of the Iranian president has been found.
However, controversial leader Ebrahim Raisi is still missing, with associates warning that his “life is in danger”.
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President Ebrahim Raisi (left) with an unidentified member of his delegation in the helicopter today before the crash Credit: AFP
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Rescue vehicles struggle through thick fog and heavy rainCredit: Reuters
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Massive rescue efforts have been launched and are continuing through the nightCredit: Reuters
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Israeli special forces Saberin are reportedly preparing to enter the forest as part of a searchCredit: X
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The last image reported of the helicopter before it crashed near the Azerbaijan borderCredit: Islamic Republic News Agency
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Raisi pictured inspecting the Qiz Qalasi dam hours before it fell Credit: Reuters
He was traveling in a convoy of three helicopters in dense fog when his aircraft disappeared from radar earlier on Sunday.
The incident was reported to have taken place near Jolfa – a town on the border with Azerbaijan, some 575 miles northwest of Tehran.
Reuters news agency quoted state media as saying Raisi’s helicopter was discovered by search and rescue teams.
It did not say where it was found or if any survivors were located.
But moments later, Iran’s Red Crescent denied the report.
It came after an Iranian official confirmed that contact was made several times with one of the passengers and one of the crew members of the president’s helicopter during the search.
Raisi, 63, was at the Azerbaijani border just hours before the accident to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam.
The Governor of East Azerbaijan Province and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian were among the passengers traveling with Raisi.
Their helicopter was one of three in the convoy – with the other two helicopters landing safely at their destination.
State TV suspended all regular programming to broadcast prayers for the president while his whereabouts remain unknown.
Inside Iran’s underground secret missile cities connected by vast tunnels where the regime is building a terrifying nuclear arsenal
It also aired footage showing Raisi in a helicopter earlier today, before the crash.
An Iranian official said the lives of Raisi and his foreign minister – who was also on board – were “threatened”.
“We are still hopeful, but the information coming from the crash site is very worrying,” the official said.
‘DOES NOT MEAN GOOD’
Former British defense secretary Tobias Ellwood told Sky News: “It doesn’t bode well when it takes so long to get in touch with what happened.”
He added that the lack of information from Iranian state media is worrying.
The Tory MP said: “If the president was alive it would be confirmed immediately, but if he had died they may be delaying any announcement to ensure contingency plans are in place.”
He added that the potential death of Riasi could mean “huge geopolitical consequences for Iran.”
Iranian state media reported that bad weather was the cause of the crash and that it complicated rescue efforts, and the rescue helicopter was unable to land.
Search efforts are reportedly concentrated around the copper mine where visibility is currently less than five meters.
At least 40 rescue teams have been deployed to the accident site.
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Raisi pictured with a convoy of helicopters while visiting Firuzkuh after the floods in July 2022 Credit: Alamy
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At least 40 teams have been deployed to the site
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A foot search was reportedly seen looking for the helicopter in the fog. Credit: Unpixs
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Rescuers rushed to the scene but struggled due to poor visibility
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Ambulances and rescue vehicles are lined up in the area of the accident
Footage showed cars racing towards the site in thick fog – and a foot search for the helicopter was also seen, with ambulances and rescue vehicles lined up nearby.
Iran’s army chief of staff has ordered that all the resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guards be used in search and rescue operations.
“It is dark and it has started to rain, but the search continues,” a local reporter told state TV.
“Rescue crews have reached the area … however, the rain has created mud, making the search difficult.”
The European Union says it has activated its rapid response mapping service, known as Copernicus, to help search for the downed helicopter.
The Copernicus system provides mapping products based on satellite images.
The footage allegedly shows members of the Saberin special forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing to enter a wooded area as part of the search.
Iran’s interior minister, Ahmed Vahidi, said Raisi was returning from the inauguration “when the helicopter carrying him made a hard landing due to foggy weather in the area.”
Rescuers used drones in an attempt to locate the missing helicopter.
Mr Vahidi said the rescue operation would “take some time”.
He told state TV: “Efforts are ongoing and we hope to reach a solution soon.
“It’s a complicated area and it’s hard to make contact. We are waiting for teams to arrive in the area for more information.”
The US State Department said it was “closely monitoring” reports of the crash.
President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters aboard Air Force One that the president had been briefed on the situation. She did not provide details.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who said he had said a “friendly farewell” to Raisi earlier in the day, offered to help with the rescue. Help was also offered by neighboring Iraq, as well as Russia and Turkey.
Iran flies a variety of helicopters, but struggles to get new parts for them due to international sanctions.
The country’s military air fleet also dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
GROWING DISCORD
The breakdown comes at a time of growing dissent within Iran over a series of political, social and economic crises.
The video even shows people setting off fireworks, allegedly in response to the news of the accident.
Iran’s clerical rulers have faced international pressure over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Since Iran’s ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting Israel’s attack on Gaza, conflagrations involving pro-Iranian groups have broken out across the Middle East.
Raisi secured victory in the 2021 presidential election, which recorded the lowest turnout in the country’s history.
What happens if Iran’s president becomes incapacitated or dies in office?
Below is a brief overview of what Iran’s constitution says happens if the president is incapacitated or dies in office:
* According to Article 131 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, if the president dies in office, the first vice president takes over, with the confirmation of the supreme leader, who has the final say in all state matters.
* The council consisting of the first vice-president, the president of Parliament and the head of the judiciary must organize the election of a new president within a maximum of 50 days.
Ebrahim Raisi was elected president in 2021, and according to the current schedule, presidential elections should be held in 2025.
Since taking office, he has ordered tougher morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard for nuclear talks with world powers.
He was sanctioned by the US for his involvement in the massacre of thousands of political activists in 1988 as the bloody Iran-Iraq war drew to a close.
Under his rule, Iran increased its uranium production to near-nuclear levels and obstructed international inspections.
Iran has also supplied Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and backed Houthi rebels who have spent months waging war against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
It comes weeks after Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Jerusalem that Israel called a “declaration of war.”
More than 300 drones and missiles have been launched at Israel by Iran and its proxy groups in Lebanon and Yemen — 99 percent of which have been intercepted, according to the Israeli military.
DUAL POLITICAL SYSTEM
In Iran’s dual political system, divided between the clerical establishment and the government, Raisi’s 85-year-old mentor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, has the final say on all major policies.
For years, many saw Raisi as a strong candidate to succeed Khamenei, who supported Raisi’s main policies.
Raisi’s victory in carefully managed elections in 2021 brought all branches of government under the control of hardliners, after eight years of the presidency of pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a nuclear deal negotiated with Washington.
However, Raisi’s position may have been undermined by widespread protests against clerical rule and his failure to turn around Iran’s economy, hamstrung by Western sanctions.
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The footage shows cars speeding towards the site in thick fog. Credit: East2West
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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during today’s ceremony in ArasCredit: AFP
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