A helicopter with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on board had to make an emergency landing in the west of the country on Sunday, state media reported. It was initially unclear whether Raisi was injured in the accident.
A large contingent of rescuers heads towards a helicopter carrying Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, which is believed to have crashed. So far, rescuers have found no traces of the helicopter that, according to state media, had to crash on Sunday in the west of the country.
The media talks about “forced landing” or “accident”
According to the information, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian was also on board. Some media report a “forced landing,” others an “accident.”
According to Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi, rescue teams do not have easy access to the accident site due to the weather. Therefore, there is no precise information about the situation on the ground. There was speculation on social media that something had happened to both President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian.
Raisi was previously in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. There he met with the president of neighboring Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. Together they inaugurated a dam.
Raisi was sworn in as Iran’s new president in August 2021. The 63-year-old ultraconservative cleric officially became the successor to Hassan Rouhani, who was no longer allowed to run after two terms. As the leading candidate of hardline politicians and the preferred candidate and protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi won the presidential election in June with nearly 62 percent of the vote.
Raisi is the number two in the country.
Born in 1960 in Mashad, northeastern Iran, Raisi is considered very influential within the Islamic system. He also maintains a close relationship with Supreme Leader Khamenei. Raisi worked in the judiciary for more than three decades and was appointed head of the judiciary in 2019. He is said to have been responsible for numerous arrests and executions of political dissidents in his previous role as prosecutor. According to the constitution, Raisi is only the country’s number two because Khamenei is the current head of state and also has the final say in all strategic matters.
until
