By Haider Abbas
Within moments of the news that the Iran President Ibrahim Raisi helicopter had crashed on May 19, there was an official denial from Israel that it was not involved in his death. This was much prior to the official confirmation of his death! After 15 hours of search operation, his body remains were found along with Iran Foreign Minister Amir Abdullahian and seven others. Nothing could have been more traumatic for a nation, to find its most dynamic President and a promising Foreign Minister to have passed-away in a tragic chain of events. Ibrahim Raisi was on his return from Azerbaijan, where he had inaugurated a Qiz Qalasi dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, jointly built by the two countries. He was travelling to Tabrez, as his helicopter crashed in the mountainous region in the northwest of the country bordering Azerbaijan. He was flying in a convoy of three helicopters, the other two helicopters reached safely.
The timings of the killing is very precarious, particularly more so, as The Wall Street Journal had openly suggested through an article by Garry Kasparov, ‘A war can’t be won by following the rules set in peacetime. The only way to win this long war is through regime change in Moscow and Tehran 1. ’There has already been an assassination attempt on Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15. He was an ally of Russia and had promised to block entry of Ukraine into NATO. Closely on the same lines has come the killing of Ibrahim Raisi. Iran is to see the next election for President in 50 days.
The biggest question is why would Raisi go to an ‘unfriendly’ nation-Azerbaijan, which ironically also have very strong relations with Israel-on a small pretext of inauguration of a dam? Was he forced to make this visit and interestingly also took his Foreign Minister alongside? It is a day light fact that during the Azerbaijan-Armenia war (2023) Iran and Russia had sided with Armenia while Israel had gone with Azerbaijan. Was there a credible information that Azerbaijan was to go-ahead with Israel against Iran in the ongoing conflict with Israel after the Gaza war? It can easily be construed that Raisi might have expressed his apprehensions to Azerbaijan against joining from the Israel side, or else why would Raisi hazard his visit? Azerbaijan is a Muslim nation, which historically had once been a part of Iran.
What however has baffled everyone is that Russia, which had sent its rescuers , expressed help in the investigation on May 19 and reiterated it on May 20 too, but there was a stoic silence from the Iranian side? Iran which is always too-quick to name Israel/US in any of its troubles, which often is true, like in the murders of nuclear scientist Mohsin Fakhrizadeh or General Qasim Suliemani etc did not officially come-up with the name of Israel/US? This is what troubles Iran, as an internal sabotage, that too, of this magnitude, just could not be ruled-out!
If these fears are true, then it would come out with a thorough investigation, which has now been ordered, as to how the US made Bell-212 helicopter, which Iran had bought in 1968, was cleared-out for the flight, despite the technical glitches it had, as due to sanctions on Iran-its spare parts were unavailable, and why was the weather forecast not adhered to, when in today’s world a weather forecast for the next half-an-hour in available on any smart phone device ? The credentials of the pilot are needed to be investigated.
Moreover, it is also coming-up, that the rescue-teams were also bluffed to reach another site, instead of the site of the accident, which could be gathered after using a Turkish drone. All the bodies were burnt beyond recognition with body parts spread into pieces, which also carries the grave possibility that either a missile had hit the helicopter, or a laser attack or a drone had stuck the President’s helicopter, as death came instant, and the pilot had not time to give even a Mayday signal.
If any of this is true, then Israel/US and their handlers/insiders in Iran or Azerbaijan, have given shivers down the spine to Iran, which is on the brink to become a nuclear-state, and not only to Iran, but to the entire Middle East oligarchs, that Israel/US has penetrated ‘so-deep’ in their state apparatuses that no state ‘head’ in the Middle East is safe-enough, therefore, leaving the only choice to embrace the Israel/US line on Palestine or else face the ‘real’ music.
Remember also, that shortly before the terrorists attack on the Crocus Mall in the suburb of Moscow on March 22, US had warned its citizens to not to attend any large gatherings or concert, and even while the attack was going-on, US had announced there was no role from Ukraine, which otherwise came true, as Russia found Ukraine’s role in it, and has vowed to avenge it. The attack had left around 140 civilians dead. It may also be referred that US Victoria Nuland, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, had warned Russian President Vladimir Putin, for some ‘nasty-surprises’ on February 22, and ‘they’ all came out on March 22.
What also is sure to have alarmed that Israel/US establishment is that Iran as a part of its bonhomie with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, brokered by China, had offered KSA to help built peaceful nuclear technology, as on May 5, Iran’s Mohammad Eslami, the Chief of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) had expressed this willingness to the Saudi Ambassador to Iran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi, that Iran was ready to cooperate with regional countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, in the development of nuclear technology. This all had come, within a month, as Iran had retaliated with 300 drones and missiles inside Israel, damaging its most coveted Nevatim air base etc, under the leadership of the ‘Lion of Middle-East’ Ibrahim Raisi, the way he was accorded on his visit to Sri Lanka on April 24.
With Raisi gone, Iran is surely on the back foot, and silent too, as surely, this incident, if a sabotage, can never happen without an internal support, and it is here, that Iran has been hurt-the-most.
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The writer is a former UP State Information Commissioner.
