International Courant
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi seems to be on throughout a press convention concluding his look on the United Nations Basic Meeting, in New York Metropolis, U.S., September 20, 2023.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
A helicopter with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on board made a “crash touchdown” on Sunday, state media reported, with climate situations complicating rescue efforts.
Raisi’s situation was unclear, in response to state information reviews, which additionally prayed for his security.
A minimum of 20 rescue groups, together with drones and search canines, have been deployed, however harsh climate and heavy fog within the space made it tough for them to achieve the positioning, state media added.
Iranian Overseas Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian additionally traveled within the helicopter, together with East Azerbaijan Governor Malik Rahmati and Raisi’s safety element, the report stated. In response to state tv IRIB, the helicopter was owned by the Iranian Pink Crescent, which Iranian Inside Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated was half of a bigger convoy. Their situation was additionally unknown.
“A number of rescue teams are on their method to the situation, however resulting from fog and dangerous climate it might take a while to achieve the realm,” Vahidi stated in feedback to state media.
The officers had been coming back from the border with the nation of Azerbaijan – within the northwest of the nation, some 600 kilometers from the capital Tehran – the place Raisi inaugurated a dam on the Aras River along with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Initially, reviews positioned the incident close to the city of Jolfa, however later stated it occurred additional east, close to the village of Uzi. Particulars stay conflicting.
State media confirmed Pink Crescent rescuers transferring by way of dense fog with only some meters of visibility and stated the helicopter is believed to have crashed in a rural forest.
The Qiz Qalasi Dam is the third dam constructed collectively by Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan and took virtually 20 years to finish, in response to state media.
Whereas Iran operates a sequence of helicopters, worldwide sanctions have made it tough for Tehran to acquire the mandatory elements for them. A lot of the helicopters operated by the army predate the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Raisi, 63, is himself beneath US sanctions for his involvement within the mass execution of hundreds of political prisoners in 1988 on the finish of the bloody warfare between Iran and Iraq.
He was re-elected in 2021, in an election with the bottom turnout within the historical past of the Islamic Republic. Raisi, a hardliner, beforehand headed the nation’s judiciary and is seen as a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Though Raisi is the elected president and heads the federal government, he’s nonetheless accountable to Khamenei, who serves as head of state.
The demise of Mahsa Amini in police custody two years in the past sparked a wave of protests throughout the nation, turning into the most important problem to the theocratic regime since its founding in 1979. The federal government rounded up demonstrators in a violent crackdown that left lots of of individuals lifeless.
In a interview with NBC Information Final yr, Raisi defended the federal government’s response, warning that those that attempt to sow instability within the Islamic Republic would pay a “nice value.”
Below Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium to close weapons-grade ranges and hinders worldwide inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its warfare towards Ukraine, and has additionally launched an enormous drone and missile assault on Israel throughout its warfare towards Hamas within the Gaza Strip. The nation has additionally continued to arm proxy teams within the Center East, together with Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanese Hezbollah.
This can be a growth story. Test again for updates.
Helicopter carrying Iranian president crashes: State TV
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