Iranian President Raisi
In a concerning development reported by state TV, a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi encountered an accident on Sunday in East Azerbaijan province.
The incident took place near Jolfa, a city situated on the border with Azerbaijan, approximately 600 kilometers northwest of Tehran.
President Raisi, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan, and other officials, was aboard the helicopter at the time of the incident.
Initial reports provided by state media presented conflicting accounts of the event. While some sources characterized it as a “hard landing,” a local government official referred to it as a “crash,” though admitting to not having reached the site yet.
Rescue efforts are underway, albeit being hampered by adverse weather conditions, including heavy rain, fog, and wind. The region is described as densely forested, further complicating access to the crash site.
President Raisi’s visit to the province was intended for the inauguration of a dam on the Aras River, alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
This visit occurs amidst recent tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan, stemming from a 2023 gun attack on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic engagements with Israel.
According to the IRNA news agency, the helicopter incident involved a total of three helicopters. While two landed safely, the third, carrying President Raisi, encountered difficulties.
Some passengers from the affected helicopter managed to establish contact with authorities. However, details regarding President Raisi’s condition remain unavailable at this time.
Ali Zakari, Deputy Governor for Development in East Azerbaijan, confirmed that he had not yet reached the accident site and therefore lacked detailed information. Iran’s Red Crescent has deployed rescue teams to the location as efforts to reach the crash site persist.
