Iranian president missing after copter crash. Tehran, May 19: The copter of President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirdollahian made a ‘crash landing’ in bad weather in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan region of Iran. After the accident, the president and the foreign minister are still missing. Various organizations, including the army, have started rescue operations. Iranian state media reported that rescue operations were being hampered by thick fog in the area.
According to Iranian media, Iranian President Riasi and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the Kiev Kasali dam on the Iran-Azerbaijan border. Raisi had planned to go to some provinces of northern Iran after that. The Iranian press reported that the president’s copter was forced to make a ‘crash landing’ in Tabriz after leaving Kiev Kasali. Experts believe that the copter pilot made this decision due to thick fog and bad weather.
The Iranian government has said that 40 teams are searching for the president’s helicopter. Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has left for Tabriz. According to experts, the condition of the Iranian aviation sector is deplorable due to decades of American and Western sanctions. In many cases, Iranian companies do not have access to the parts required for the repair of airplanes and helicopters. Neighboring Iraq has offered help in the rescue effort.
According to the Iranian state news agency, the night is getting darker. As a result, rescue workers are trying to reach the accident site near a copper mine 50 km from Tabriz on foot. Uncertainty has spread over the accident in Iran. Iranian state media asked citizens to pray for the president. Raisi, who is known as a radical in the Islamic regime of that country, was elected as the president in 2021. A large section of West Asian politicians believe that he can later succeed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Praying for the safe return of the President, the Ayatollah said that even if the ROIC cannot run the administration, there will be no problem running the government. According to the Iranian constitution, if the president dies suddenly, the vice-president succeeds him.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other state leaders have expressed concern about the accident. Modi’s statement on social media, “Extremely concerned by the news of President Raisi’s flight. We stand with the people of Iran at this critical timePraying for the Iranian president and his fellow passengers.”
Iran-US relations, which have been bitter for decades, have been further soured by the recent Israel-Iran and Israel-Hamas conflicts. On this day, the American administration informed that they are monitoring the situation. President Biden has been informed about the incident.
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