Iranian State Media: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Killed in Accident Helicopter
Who is Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president who died in a helicopter crash?
Iranian state media reported Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash that crashed in northwestern Iran. Who is Ebrahim Raisi, the cleric who has been president of Iran since 2021?
Ebrahim Raisi is a hardline cleric close to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi's election as president in 2021 consolidated conservative control in Iran.
The 63-year-old former justice chief replaced Hassan Rouhani after a landslide victory in an election that saw many moderate and reformist candidates banned and a majority of voters rejected him.
He took power as Iran faces challenges, including economic problems, rising regional tensions and stalled talks on a nuclear deal with major powers.
However, his term in office has been dominated by the anti-government protests that hit Iran in 2022, as well as the current war in Gaza between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas – which has turned Iran's shadow war with Israel into open war.
He also continues to face calls from many Iranians and human rights activists for an investigation into his alleged role in the mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s.
Breaking: Iranian President's Helicopter Found, No Survivors
- The ill-fated helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has reportedly been found. Local media said no survivors were found at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Quoting CNN International, this was reported by Iran's state news agency IRINN and the semi-official news agency Mehr News. The same thing was also published by AFP citing state television. "There were no survivors found at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the foreign minister," confirmed the CNN International report, quoted Monday (20/5/2024). "Iranian state television said Monday there were no signs of life among the passengers of the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials," read AFP quoting local TV.
"After the helicopter was found, there was no sign that the helicopter passengers were still alive," he said. However, there has been no official announcement from the Iranian government. However, quoted from Al-Jazeera, the chairman of the Red Crescent said "the news is not so good" when officials said the helicopter crash site had been found.
"So now, we received a video from the rescue team. They said the entire cabin of the helicopter was badly damaged and on fire. And they said that as of now, there is no sign of survivors at the site," Al-Jazeera reported again.
Before the unfortunate accident, Raisi was on an assignment trip to the border to inaugurate a Qiz-Qalasi dam project with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The cause of the accident is still being investigated although some analysts believe it is related to the bad weather that occurred at the time.
Raisi's helicopter crashed in the border area of Azerbaijan and Iran, 100 kilometers to be precise in the city of Tabriz, near a village called Tavil. The initial discovery was reported by Turkish media Anadolu where a Turkish drone sent to Iran found a hot spot in the mountains.
Iranian President's Helicopter Burns, No Survivors
- Anonymous sources said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter burned to the ground.
The source told Reuters.
Rescue teams have arrived at the crash site of the Iranian President's helicopter.
For information, the wreckage of Raisi's helicopter was found three kilometers north of Tavil village, East Azerbaijan Province.
Along with reports of Raisi's helicopter burning to the ground, it was stated that no survivors were found in the area, the IRAN, IRNN and Mehr News news agencies reported, reported by CNN.
It is known that the helicopter carrying Raisi and the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, as well as several other people, crashed in a remote area in Iran, Sunday (19/5/2024) The accident that happened to Raisi's group occurred at a time when high tensions hit the Middle East region, with war raging in Gaza.
Also, weeks after Iran launched drone and missile attacks on Israel in response to a deadly attack on an Israeli diplomatic compound in Damascus, Syria.
As President of Iran, Raisi is the second most powerful person in the Islamic Republic's structure, after Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Previously, the Head of the Iranian Red Crescent (IRCS), Pir-Hossein Kolivand, ISNA said that the rescue team had arrived at the accident site. "The Red Crescent search and rescue team has reached the crash site of the helicopter carrying the president," IRCS said in a statement, reported by AlJazeera.
At least 73 rescue teams were in the area of the helicopter crash near the village of Tavil in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, according to Kolivand. Kolivand said "the situation is not good," according to Iranian state news outlet IRNA. Iranian people wish Raisi well
Iranians prayed for Raisi's safety as news of the helicopter crash made headlines. A Tehran resident, Vakili, told AFP he was "afraid" of the worst.
He recalled the tense moments that occurred in the last few years.
"I hope they are OK and found," he said. "It's a strange feeling, like the one we felt before when Qasem Soleimani was killed," he continued, referring to the IRGC commander who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2020. "I'm very sad," said another Tehran resident.
"We hope he (Raisi) and the others are found in good health."
A group of men knelt on the side of the road holding prayer beads and watching a video of Raisi praying, some of them crying.
"If something happens to him, we will be heartbroken," said one man, Mehdi Syedi. "May his prayers be successful and may he return to the nation's arms safely."