PBy Muslim Mirror Staff
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi, 63, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed after the helicopter flying them back to Iran crashed near the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on Sunday.
On Monday morning, Iran’s state media confirmed that all passenger onboard the helicopter had died in the crash.
The helicopter crashed as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, while Raisi, the foreign minister and other officials were on their way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran’s northwest.
Raisi’s death comes at a time when Iran is already facing several challenges, with dissent over a range of political and economic issues. The Iranian government face international pressure over its ally Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023, as well as its deepening military ties with Russia during the war with Ukraine.
The hardline leader took a tough stance in nuclear negotiations with the world leaders, as Iran enriched its uranium near weapons-grade levels. He also oversaw the launch of an aerial attack on Israel last month, in response to the killing of senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers in Iran’s embassy in Damascus.
According to the Anadolu news agency, a Turkish drone helped in identifying the source of heat suspected to be from the helicopter’s wreckage, and shared the coordinates of the possible site of crash — 20 kilometers south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border — with the Iranian officials.
• Search and rescue operations continue in the mountainous terrain of northwestern Iran for President Raisi and his delegation
Türkiye’s Akinci UAV participates in the operations, detecting heat source, possibly wreckage of helicopter carrying Iranian president… pic.twitter.com/toQpJlab7N
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) May 20, 2024
( With Agencies Inputs )