Ebrahim Raisi was elected Iranian president on the second try in 2021. (File)
Dubai:
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his overseas minister crashed on Sunday because it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official informed Reuters, and rescuers had been struggling to achieve the location of the incident.
The official mentioned the lives of Raisi and Overseas Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian had been “in danger following the helicopter crash”, which occurred on the best way again from a go to to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran’s northwest.
“We’re nonetheless hopeful however info coming from the crash web site could be very regarding,” the official informed Reuters, talking on situation of anonymity.
State TV quoted an official as saying that at the least one passenger and one crew member had been in touch with rescuers. It additionally mentioned the helicopter had been discovered, although Iran’s Crimson Crescent denied this report.
Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds final energy with a last say on overseas coverage and Iran’s nuclear programme, sought to reassure Iranians, saying there can be no disruption to state affairs.
Iranian state media mentioned unhealthy climate was the reason for the crash and was complicating rescue efforts. The chief of employees of Iran’s military ordered all of the sources of the military and the elite Revolutionary Guard to be put to make use of in search and rescue operations.
“It’s darkish and it has began raining, however the search continues. Rescue groups have reached the world … nonetheless, the rain has created mud, making the search troublesome,” an area reporter informed state TV.
The nationwide broadcaster had earlier stopped all its common programming to indicate prayers being held for Raisi throughout the nation and, in a nook of the display, stay protection of rescue groups deployed on foot within the mountainous space in heavy fog.
The rescue groups had been anticipated to achieve the possible web site of the crash afterward Sunday night.
Neighbouring international locations expressed concern and supplied help in any rescue. The White Home mentioned U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on experiences concerning the crash. The European Union supplied emergency satellite tv for pc mapping expertise to assist Iran with the search.
HARDLINER, POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR TO KHAMENEI
The crash comes at a time of rising dissent inside Iran over an array of political, social and financial crises. Iran’s clerical rulers face worldwide stress over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme and its deepening army ties with Russia in the course of the battle in Ukraine.
Since Iran’s ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, frightening Israel’s assault on Gaza, conflagrations involving Iran-aligned teams have erupted all through the Center East.
Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking workplace has ordered a tightening of morality legal guidelines, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed onerous in nuclear talks with world powers.
In Iran’s twin political system, cut up between the clerical institution and the federal government, it’s Raisi’s 85-year-old mentor Khamenei, supreme chief since 1989, who holds decision-making energy on all main insurance policies.
For years many have seen Raisi as a powerful contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi’s principal insurance policies.
Raisi’s victory in a carefully managed election in 2021 introduced all branches of energy beneath the management of hardliners, after eight years when the presidency had been held by pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a nuclear deal negotiated with Washington.
Nevertheless, Raisi’s standing might have been dented by widespread protests in opposition to clerical rule and a failure to show round Iran’s economic system, hamstrung by Western sanctions.
Raisi had been on the Azerbaijani border on Sunday to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint mission. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, who mentioned he had bid a “pleasant farewell” to Raisi earlier within the day, supplied help within the rescue.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)