Iranian state media reported at around 8:00 a.m. local time on Monday that President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials had died in a helicopter crash.
The announcement by Press TV came shortly after other government-affiliated outlets had reported there was “no sign of life” at the site of the crash about 20 miles south of the border with neighboring Azerbaijan.
Iranian state media said Monday the bodies of Raisi and his entourage were found at the crash site in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan. Citing the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, the official IRNA news agency said the bodies were being transported to the city of Tabriz in the province where they will be buried.
The Iranian presidency official website confirmed Raisi’s death in the crash, saying he died “while serving his nation.” The website also mourned the death of Amir-Abdollahian who was also in the helicopter, along with the governor of the East Azerbaijan province Malek Rahmati, the leader of Friday prayers in Tabriz Hojjatoleslam Al Hashem, the head of the president’s security team, and the helicopter’s pilots and flight crew.
The Foreign Ministry also posted on X an announcement mourning the death of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian, as well as their entourage.
Shortly after news of their death was confirmed, Iran’s Cabinet held an emergency meeting on Monday morning, which was followed by a statement saying Raisi “has been martyred on the birth anniversary of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam.”
The ministers paid tribute to the president in the statement for his tireless efforts in serving the nation.
The ministers further vowed to continue working along Raisi’s path, while assuring the Iranian people that the management of the country will not be disrupted.
The news comes after a 15-hour search that started on Sunday following reports that Raisi’s helicopter was involved in a “hard landing” in the Dizmar forest in northwest Iran.
State TV said the area where the helicopter incident happened is near Jolfa, a city on the border of Azerbaijan. Foggy and snowy conditions were reported in the area, which delayed the search and rescue operations.
In the early hours of Monday local time, a Turkish drone identified a heat source suspected to be the wreckage of the helicopter carrying Raisi, the country’s official Anadolu Agency reported at 8:16 p.m ET (3:46 a.m. local time). Tasnim news agency, citing an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander, reported that the heat source may be the site of the Raisi’s helicopter.
Akinci UAV identifies source of heat suspected to be wreckage of helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi and shares its coordinates with Iranian authorities pic.twitter.com/0tZtMc5oaP
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) May 20, 2024
The Iranian president and his entourage were returning from the Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Senior officials on board
An Iranian official had told Reuters that the lives of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were “at risk” after their helicopter crashed while traveling through a mountainous area in the fog.
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami traveled to the area of the incident to assist in the search, Tasnim news agency reported.
Soon after, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, ordered the Army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and the Law Enforcement Command to mobilize in search of Raisi, Tasnim reported.
The Islamic Republic News Agency reported at 12:24 pm ET that the location of the helicopter was still unknown amid ongoing search efforts. Meanwhile, Iran state television also added shortly after that “it is not possible to confirm or deny that the passengers of the Iranian president’s helicopter were injured or killed.”
Around 2:15 p.m. ET and after more than five hours of search efforts, rescuers found wreckage from the helicopter, Reuters reported citing Iranian official television. Those reports were denied later by the Iranian Red Crescent.
Later on Sunday around 3:15 pm ET, Tasnim reported that search teams were getting closer to the site and have been able to receive signal from the helicopter as well as from a cell phone belonging to an aide of Raisi. The Islamic Republic News Agency reported at 3:23 pm ET that the exact location of the incident was identified.
The Islamic Republic News Agency reported at 4:03 pm ET (almost midnight local time), that rescuers are “are being hampered due to darkness coupled with foggy weather conditions and the impassability of the region.” Al Jazeera quoted an Iranian army commander as saying rain is turning into snow in the area. The Iranian Red Crescent expected at least three hours of search in area.
Raisi, 63, came to power in 2021 and is considered one potential successor to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini.
Iran’s deputy president for executive affairs, Mohsen Mansouri, said two passengers aboard the helicopter communicated with rescuers and that the location of the accident has been identified in a radius of 2 kilometers (1.25 miles), the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The agency did not specify when the communication occurred.
Earlier today presidents #Raisi and #Aliyev met on the 🇮🇷/🇦🇿 border in an attempt to diffuse tensions between their countries.
On the way back Raisi’s helicopter was forced to make a crash landing. His current status is still unknown. pic.twitter.com/CoxPy5Cci3
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) May 19, 2024
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that there were three helicopters in the convoy, two of which landed safely.
Earlier on Sunday, Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the Qiz Qalasi Dam along the two countries’ border.
Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, told media that 40 rescue teams were searching for the president.
European help
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said in a post on X that the European Union was activating its Copernicus mapping service in response to the incident. Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered Iraq’s Red Crescent and Interior Ministry to assist in the search for the helicopter, according to a government statement. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry had said in a statement that the country was “ready to provide all necessary support.”
The Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement the kingdom’s “readiness to provide any assistance Iranian authorities need.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was “deeply saddened” by the crash. “Turkey is in full contact and coordination,” with the Iranian government, Erdogan wrote on social media platform X. The Turkish Foreign Ministry separately said Ankara also moved to join the search and rescue work. Turkey’s disaster response agency said later Sunday that Iran asked for a search and rescue helicopter with night vision from Turkey. The agency added that a teams of 32 rescuers and six vehicles were dispatched to support the efforts.
Meanwhile, members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Committee along with other senior government officials traveled to Tabriz, the closest large city to the accident, the New York Times reported, citing Iranian state media.
Iranian media quoted Khameini as saying “The Iranian nation should not worry, no disruption will occur in the country’s affairs” in response to the incident.
The US State Department released a statement Sunday saying, “We are closely following reports of a possible hard landing of a helicopter in Iran carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister. We have no further comment at this time.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
