Accidents: Rescue workers: presidential helicopter found in Iran

After a search operation lasting several hours, rescue teams in Iran have discovered the helicopter in which President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian are said to have had an accident. Rescuers had identified the helicopter and were still about two kilometers away from the site, said the head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pir-Hussein Kuliwand, on state television early in the morning. “The situation is not good,” he continued.

A video from the state news agency Irna showed the suspected crash site on a steep slope in the middle of the forest. The rescue workers used a small camera drone to get an overview. In a video, they described the helicopter’s cabin as “completely burned out.” Further details were initially not known.

President Raisi was returning with Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian from a meeting with the President of neighboring Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, when their helicopter went missing in the northwest of the country on Sunday afternoon. Dozens of rescue teams continued to search for the helicopter and its nine occupants in difficult weather conditions in the mountainous terrain after dark. There was no official information on the whereabouts of the inmates as of Monday morning.

If the two statesmen were killed, the consequences would be difficult to predict. However, the Islamic Republic is likely to plunge into a serious crisis. Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei, who as the most powerful man in the state has the final say on all strategic issues, assured that evening that even in the worst case scenario, all scenarios were taken into account. He prayed for the return of his protégé Raisis, who was already being discussed as a potential successor to the 85-year-old.