Ibrahim Raisi and Accompanying Delegation Killed in Helicopter Crash

Iranian media officially announced that Ibrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic, and an eight-member delegation accompanying him, including Hossein Amirabdollahian, Foreign Minister, were killed following a helicopter crash.

The Tasnim and Mehr news agencies, on the morning of Monday, May 19, eighteen hours after the incident, confirmed the death of Iran’s head of government and foreign minister by recovering the wreckage of the helicopter that crashed while departing from the border point between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, ending the search operations.

An Iranian official also confirmed to Reuters news agency the death of Ibrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation.

With the failure of Iranian rescue teams to locate the crash site, regional countries, including Turkey and Russia, rushed to assist the Islamic Republic by dispatching rescue teams and aerial equipment. Ultimately, Turkey’s Akinci drone identified the accident location near a mountainous village called “Tawil” in East Azerbaijan Province.

Many uncertainties still surround this incident, but Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader in the United States, citing assessments by American intelligence officials, stated that “there is no evidence of sabotage at this time,” although investigations continue.

Reports indicate heavy rain and fog in the area at the time of the crash of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President and his accompanying delegation.

Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, Friday Prayer Imam of Tabriz, Hossein Malik Rahmati, Governor of East Azerbaijan, and several others were among the passengers on this helicopter.

63-year-old Ibrahim Raisi won the 1400 presidential election in one of Iran’s most uncompetitive presidential elections, an election that had the lowest level of public participation compared to all presidential elections in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Source: Radio Farda