A helicopter carrying Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, experienced a “hard landing” on Sunday while flying through Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, according to Iranian state television. Until now, no information was released about the President’s location or situation.
The accident occurred in a mountainous terrain in Jolfa, a city bordering Azerbaijan, about 375 miles (600 kilometers) northwest of Tehran, Iran’s capital.
According to state-run news agency IRNA, Raisi was accompanied by Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan, and other officials.
A local government official used the word “crash” to describe the situation, but he admitted to an Iranian news outlet that he has not yet arrived at the scene.
According to state TV, rescuers were attempting to reach the scene but were delayed by terrible weather. Heavy rain and fog were observed, along with moderate wind. IRNA referred to the region as a “forest”.
Raisi had arrived in Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam alongside the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third that the two countries have constructed on the Aras River.
The visit came amid strained relations between the two countries, illustrated by a gun attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran in 2023 and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic connections with Israel, which Iran perceives as its principal regional adversary.
Iran owns several helicopters, but international restrictions make it difficult to obtain spare parts for them. Its military air fleet also predates the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Raisi, 63, is a hardliner who formerly headed the country’s court. He is regarded as a protégé of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and some analysts believe he might succeed the 85-year-old leader after his death or retirement from the position.