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 May 19, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.
The likely crash came as Iran, under Mr. Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has also faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women’s rights — making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.
