Some started urging the general public to hope for Raisi and the others on board on Sunday as rescue crews sped by a misty, rural forest the place his helicopter was believed to be.
Raisi was touring in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV mentioned the incident occurred close to Jolfa, a metropolis on the border with with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometres north-west of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Later, the TV put it farther east close to the village of Uzi, however particulars remained contradictory.
Touring with Raisi had been Iran’s International Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and different officers and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA information company reported.
One native authorities official used the phrase “crash” to explain the incident, however he acknowledged to an Iranian newspaper that he had but to achieve the location himself.
Neither IRNA nor state TV supplied any data on Raisi’s situation. Nevertheless, hard-liners urged the general public to hope for him.
“The esteemed president and firm had been on their method again aboard some helicopters and one of many helicopters was pressured to make a tough touchdown because of the unhealthy climate and fog,” Inside Minister Ahmad Vahidi mentioned in feedback aired on state TV.
“Varied rescue groups are on their method to the area however due to the poor climate and fogginess it’d take time for them to achieve the helicopter.”
He mentioned the area was “a bit (rugged) and it is tough to make contact”.
“We’re ready for rescue groups to achieve the touchdown website and provides us extra data,” the minister mentioned.
Rescuers had been making an attempt to achieve the location, state TV mentioned, however had been hampered by poor climate circumstances. There had been heavy rain and fog reported with some wind.
IRNA known as the world a “forest” and the area is thought to be mountainous as nicely. State TV aired photos of SUVs racing by a wooded space.
Raisi had been in Azerbaijan early on Sunday (Sunday night AEST) to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one which the 2 nations constructed on the Aras River.
The go to got here regardless of chilly relations between the 2 nations, together with over a gun assault on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic relations with Israel, which Iran’s Shiite theocracy views as its most important enemy within the area.
Iran flies quite a lot of helicopters within the nation, however worldwide sanctions make it tough to acquire components for them. Its navy air fleet additionally largely dates again to earlier than the 1979 Islamic Revolution
Raisi, 63, is a hard-liner who previously led the nation’s judiciary. He’s seen as a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a few analysts have urged he may exchange the 85-year-old chief after his dying or resignation from the function.
Raisi received Iran’s 2021 presidential election, a vote that noticed the bottom turnout within the Islamic Republic’s historical past. Raisi is sanctioned by the US partially over his involvement within the mass execution of hundreds of political prisoners in 1988 on the finish of the bloody Iran-Iraq warfare.
Below Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at almost weapons-grade ranges and hampers worldwide inspections.
Iran has armed Russia in its warfare on Ukraine, in addition to launched a large drone-and-missile assault on Israel amid its warfare in opposition to Hamas within the Gaza Strip. It additionally has continued arming proxy teams within the Center East, like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
