Accident? Iranian President and Foreign Minister killed in Helicopter Crash

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RT and others report that a helicopter on which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and several other high ranking officials (including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian) were flying has either "crashed" or made a "hard landing":

Helicopter carrying Iranian president crashes – reports​

The aircraft with Ebrahim Raisi on board suffered a “hard landing,” according to some media
Helicopter carrying Iranian president crashes – reports

FILE PHOTO. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi © Sputnik / Sergey Bobylev
A helicopter on which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was a passenger encountered a “hard landing” on Sunday, according to unconfirmed reports by Iranian state television and other media outlets.
The Interior Minister of Iran Ahmad Vahidi has reportedly confirmed that the helicopter with Raisi on board had made a hard landing in the city of Jolfa in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azarbaijan.
Several other senior officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Governor of East Azarbaijan Malek Rahmati, were traveling with the president, reports claim.
About an hour after the incident, rescue teams reportedly managed to reach the area and began a search operation that is currently ongoing.
Foggy weather and the impassibility of the area has made the search operations difficult, IRNA writes.
Shortly after the first reports about the incident, news outlet Mehr reported that the president was fine and was traveling by car as part of a motorcade to Tabriz, the provincial capital. However, it later deleted this update.

Video here.

There were three helicopters in Raisi’s convoy, Tasnim writes, amid conflicting reports. Two of the aircraft, which were carrying some ministers and officials, reached their destination safely. The agency claims that some of the officials who were with the president at the time of the incident were able to contact what Tasnim described as a “center,” which may indicate that the incident had not resulted in serious injury.
Earlier on Sunday, President Raisi was attending a ceremony along with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River. The facility was jointly built by the neighboring states.
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Live updates here, which inludes this:

19 May 2024
14:51 GMT
Shortly after the first reports about the incident, news outlet Mehr reported that the president was fine and was traveling by car as part of a motorcade to Tabriz, the provincial capital. However, it has now deleted this update.
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If the following is to believed, a hard landing is more likely than a fatal crash. At least two people were alive and contacted the outside world several times:

  • 18:21 GMT
    Iranian state TV now reports that the crashed helicopter has been found. There is no information on Raisi’s condition yet.
  • 18:20 GMT
    According to Mohsen Mansouri, the deputy to the president for executive affairs, one of the officials on Raisi’s helicopter and a member of the flight crew was able to reach out after the incident occurred.
    “This was one of the hopeful points in this. This shows that the severity of the incident was not very high because two of the people who were on the flight contacted our people in several instances,” the official, who is leading the search at the site, was reported by state television as having said.
    The Red Crescent reported that 65 teams are currently operating in the area, and officials believe they are close to locating the helicopter.
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Israel's authorities love to add fuel to the fire.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1792210012062077422

More updates at RT
Add:
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19 May 2024 21:13 GMT
Journalist Arash Azizi for The Atlantic reported Raisi’s death citing a source close to the Iranian presidency. He noted that authorities were looking for a way to break the news without causing unrest. Azizi said he wasn’t able to verify what the source had told him.
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  • 19 May 2024
    19:38 GMT
    Iranian media reports that Governor Rahmati, who was in the helicopter with the president, had managed to get in touch. He reportedly said that he was in a lot of pain and could hear the sound of sirens. The media has not given any information on Raisi.
  • 19:36 GMT
    The commander of the Revolutionary Guard in East Azerbaijan Province says they received signals from Iranian president’s helicopter and from the phone of one of the passengers.
  • 18:38 GMT
    The Iranian Red Crescent Society is denying reports that Raisi’s helicopter had been discovered. An earlier communication was reported by PressTV by mistake. So far, only the coordinates of the crash have been established.
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There was from Ria an article in Russian, which indicate underlying tension, if you consider who was present at the meeting reported in the article:
Putin held an emergency meeting with the Iranian ambassador, the media reported
IRNA: Putin held an emergency meeting with the Iranian Ambassador after the emergency with the Raisi helicopter

TEHRAN, May 20-RIA Novosti. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday held an emergency meeting with Iran's Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali in connection with the helicopter crash that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, IRNA news agency reports.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite the fact that Sunday is a day off in this country, held a meeting with the Iranian ambassador in Moscow," the report says.

The meeting was also attended by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Security Council Chief Sergei Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov, and Presidential Adviser Igor Levitin.

During the meeting, Putin expressed concern to the Iranian ambassador about the events surrounding the helicopter crash with President Raisi on board , and also asked him to convey a message to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the Russian side is ready to do everything necessary to search for the Iranian president.

Iranian media reported on Sunday that a helicopter carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian crashed in the north-west of the country in the Verzegan region. Rescue teams have arrived in the area of the emergency and are searching for him. Turkey has sent 32 climbers and six vehicles, as well as a helicopter and UAV, to help Iran.
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When I first logged in this morning to my newsfeed, I saw SANA reporting it as sabotage, but for the life of me, I can't find the article.

I do wonder if there was some funny business involved in this situation, maybe this is how the Mossad returns the favor for Iran's recent attack on Israel?
 
I remember some expert on Israel saying weeks ago after the Iranian attack thing had died down that Israel might not have the balls to direct attack since the US would not back them, but Israel feels they have to respond to every attack, so you could probably expect some assassinations in Iran. That comment appears to be prophetic. Plus just like before 10/7, people are on the streets demanding the butcher of Gaza to resign. He clearly needed a distraction, and he just got it...

I don't think the israelis wanted Iran breaking bread with the Azerbajanis in Astana since they would like to use that as a bad to invade Iran in the future.

Strange we have leaders dropping like flies. Slovak president shot, someone arrested on an assasination plot in serbia, and all the sudden Bin Salmon is in the hospital today? And Putin just had a pow wow with Xi in China.

Looks like something big is about to go down. The gold market seems to agree...
 
Alejo said:
I do wonder if there was some funny business involved in this situation, maybe this is how the Mossad returns the favor for Iran's recent attack on Israel?
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Even if it wasn't sabotage as such, one thing I've noticed is that Zionists tend to have 'lucky strikes' now and then - almost like witchcraft. Judging by the pictures, the visibility was terrible and the weather not great. Actually, I don't know why they decided to fly at the time.

If it wasn't sabotage but the weather, then to me that's another example of how 'the system' (hyperdimensional sts) not only protects but works in favour of Israel. I mean, what are the odds?

Or maybe it was just Mossad. And if Iran openly blames Israel, who knows what can happen next.
 
Regardless of if there was funny business with the Israelis, taking a helicopter over the mountains in dense fog with your president and foreign minister in tow is very poor decision making. No doubt the Iranians don't have the best aviation tech due to US sanctions.

Edit: Not to mention the Azerbaijan border is precarious right now due to the tensions with Armenia, and Azer is Israel's ally (Iran's too, but still). And all to celebrate the opening of a dam? Just cannot fathom the act of putting two of your most important state leaders in that position. Simplicious tweeted "I don't know the president that well, but the foreign minister is effectively Iran's Lavrov."

What a colossal strategic error.
 
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According to Cradle on telegram, Iranian state television announces the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the accompanying delegation in the helicopter crash.

Syria: President Bashar al-Assad:
"Our heartfelt condolences to the Leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution and to the Iranian government and people.

This is very sad and worrying,.
 
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