Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials were confirmed dead on Monday after their helicopter crashed in a mountainous region in the northwest of the country, state media reported Iranian state.
State television said Monday there were “no signs of life” at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Raïssi, 63, Abdollahian, 60, and other officials, after its “hard landing” on Sunday.
The crash site was in a steep valley, according to state media, which gave no immediate cause for the accident.
As the sun rose Monday, rescuers spotted the helicopter at a distance of about 2.25 kilometers, Iranian Red Crescent Society head Pir Hossein Kolivand told state media. The officials had been missing for more than 12 hours when the helicopter was sighted.
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There were “no signs of life” reported Monday at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials, according to Iranian state media. (Ali Hamed Haghdoust/IRNA via AP)
Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were traveling in Iran's East Azerbaijan province when the helicopter made what state television described as a “hard landing” near Jolfa, a town on the border with the Azerbaijani nation , about 375 miles northwest of Tehran. State television later said the plane had crashed further east, near the village of Uzi, although details remained conflicting.
The governor of East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards were also on board, according to the official IRNA news agency. A local government official described what happened as a “crash,” while others called it a “hard landing” or “incident.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (R) attend the signing of a bilateral agreement in Havana, Cuba, at the Palace of the Revolution, June 15, 2023. (YAMIL LAGE/AFP)
“The esteemed President and his company were on their way back in helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to bad weather and fog,” the Minister of Defense said. Interior Ahmad Vahidi in remarks broadcast on state television.
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Rescue teams are seen near the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan, northwest Iran. (Azin Haghighi, Moj news agency via AP)
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The incident comes as Iran, under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel last month.
Iran has also faced years of massive protests against its Shiite theocracy in response to a struggling economy and attacks on women's rights.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.