A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest. The public was urged to pray as details emerged from the sensitive moment for Tehran and the future of the country.
The likely crash occurred as Iran, under President Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel and has enriched uranium to levels closer than ever to weapons-grade. Iran has faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women’s rights, amid ongoing tensions from the Israel-Hamas conflict inflaming the wider Middle East.
The incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Tehran. State TV reported a “hard landing” near the village of Uzi, with conflicting details on the exact location.
Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor, and other officials and bodyguards, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Initial reports described a “crash” while others referred to a “hard landing” or “incident.”
State TV did not provide immediate updates on Raisi’s condition, but hard-liners urged the public to pray for him. Images later showed faithful praying at Shiite Islam’s holiest sites in Mashhad and Qom, as well as across the country.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi explained, “The esteemed president and his company were returning aboard helicopters when one of them was forced to make a hard landing due to bad weather and fog.” Various rescue teams were dispatched, although reaching the helicopter was delayed by poor weather conditions.
