A helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in an accident amid poor weather conditions on Sunday, according to state media. A search is currently underway, and there is no update on his condition,Daily Trust reports.
State television reported that “an accident happened to the helicopter carrying the president” in the Jofa region of East Azerbaijan province. Rescue teams are headed to the area to locate him and other officials. It was also reported that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian might have been aboard.
State TV noted that harsh weather and heavy fog are hindering rescue efforts. The accident occurred in the mountainous forest area of Dizmar near Varzaghan, as per the official IRNA news agency.
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Raisi, 63, was visiting the province to inaugurate a dam project with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on the border between the two countries. His convoy included three helicopters, and the other two reached their destination safely, according to the Tasnim news agency.
IRNA reported that the foreign minister and local officials were traveling in the same helicopter as Raisi. The reformist Shargh Daily also noted that “the helicopter carrying the president crashed” while the other two helicopters landed safely.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi later stated that one of the helicopters “made a hard landing due to bad weather conditions” and that communication with the aircraft was challenging.
Raisi has been Iran’s president since June 2021, succeeding moderate Hassan Rouhani. His term has been marked by significant crises and conflicts. He took office amid a deep social crisis and an economy strained by US sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran experienced mass protests following the death of Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini in custody in September 2022. In March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations in a surprise deal. Regional tensions escalated again with the war in Gaza beginning on October 7, leading to Tehran launching hundreds of missiles and rockets at Israel in April 2024.
Born in 1960 in Mashhad, Raisi quickly ascended to high office. At 20, following the 1979 Islamic revolution, he was named prosecutor-general of Karaj near Tehran. He served as Tehran’s prosecutor-general from 1989 to 1994, deputy chief of the Judicial Authority for a decade from 2004, and national prosecutor-general in 2014. His black turban signifies direct descent from Islam’s Prophet Mohammed, and he holds the religious title of “hojatoleslam,” one rank below ayatollah in the Shiite clerical hierarchy.
