Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is lacking after his helicopter crashes

Iranian emergency crews earlier positioned the positioning of the crash and reported seeing wreckage, state media mentioned. The placement is close to Tavil village in northwest Iran.

Dense fog within the area had difficult the search effort, state media reported. Iran’s Supreme Chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged individuals to wish for Raisi’s well being and mentioned there “won’t be any disruption to the country’s affairs” on account of the incident, in accordance with a press release proven on state TV.

Raisi, an ultraconservative cleric in his 60s who gained Iran’s presidential election in 2021, has been seen as a favourite to ultimately succeed Supreme Chief Khamenei. 

The incident comes at a time of turmoil within the Center East over the warfare in Gaza between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas — designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union. It has edged Iran and Israel near all-out battle and led to different Tehran-supported teams, together with the Houthis in Yemen and Shiite militias in Iraq, to assault US bases and business ships within the Purple Sea.

Raisi’s air fleet consisted of three helicopters with high-ranking officers together with International Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the semi-official Tasnim information company reported. Amirabdollahian was believed to be on board Raisi’s plane on the time.

The US is intently following stories of the incident, a State Division spokesperson mentioned with out additional remark. Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer mentioned Sunday that intelligence companies have knowledgeable him there isn’t a proof of foul play, NBC reported.    

‘Extremely Difficult’ Search

Virtually 10 hours into the search, it was “extremely difficult” due to darkness and heavy fog and rain, Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Providers, informed state TV. Earlier, Iran’s inside minister, Ahmad Vahidi, mentioned discovering the president’s helicopter was more likely to take time due to the adversarial circumstances.

Turkey’s state catastrophe administration company, AFAD, mentioned Iran requested a search and rescue helicopter with evening imaginative and prescient capabilities. Some 32 rescue and analysis personnel in addition to six autos have been additionally despatched to Iran, AFAD mentioned in a publish on X.

The Turkish ministry of protection mentioned it dispatched an Akinci drone in response to a request from Iran. It additionally mentioned a Cougar helicopter stays on alert to be deployed relying on climate circumstances.

The European Union activated its fast response mapping service following a request for assist from Iran, the bloc’s Commissioner for Disaster Administration, Janez Lenarčič, mentioned in a publish on X.

Iranian tv aired stay footage of scores of ambulances amid heavy rain and fog. A reporter, stationed close to the rescue groups, talked about the challenges in reaching the crash web site, citing impassable roads as a consequence of mud and the distant nature of the realm.

The printed additionally confirmed pilgrims praying for Raisi on the holy shrine in Mashhad, the northeastern metropolis the place Raisi was born. 

Others believed to be on board Raisi’s helicopter included the governor of East Azerbaijan province and the supreme chief’s consultant within the metropolis of Tabriz, Iranian media mentioned. 

Each Raisi and Amirabdollahian oversaw the restoration of Iran’s diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia via a Chinese language-brokered deal introduced in March 2023. However it was a time when there was additionally a stalemate in negotiations to revive Iran’s nuclear take care of world powers and raise financial sanctions. 

Earlier Sunday, Raisi met his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev to inaugurate a collectively developed dam on the border between the 2 international locations. The incident occurred whereas Raisi was coming back from Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

Raisi’s ascension to the presidency got here after eight years underneath the relative reasonable Hassan Rouhani, who was central to the nuclear accord that former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from in 2018. 

The US exit from the deal empowered Iran’s hardliners, who have been all the time essential of the settlement. Raisi was sanctioned in 2019 by the Trump administration, which cited his position in a lethal crackdown a decade earlier on protesters alleging vote fraud. 

He’s additionally accused by rights teams of being instrumental within the mass execution of 1000’s of political dissidents within the late Eighties. In 2018, London-based Amnesty Worldwide mentioned he presided over a “death commission” and referred to as on the United Nations to analyze him for crimes towards humanity. 

Raisi’s first Vice President is Mohammad Mokhber, who has represented Iran on many latest abroad journeys and who like many senior Iranian officers is topic to US sanctions.