Iran | Helicopter carrying Iran's President Raisi crashes in mountains; President, foreign minister found dead at crash site

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian are missing after the helicopter carrying them crashed in the middle of the Dizmar forest.

DUBAI, May 19 (Reuters) - A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog on the way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan, an Iranian official told Reuters.

The official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were "at risk following the helicopter crash".

"We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The bad weather was complicating rescue efforts, the state news agency IRNA reported.

State TV stopped all its regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country and, in a corner of the screen, live coverage of rescue teams searching the mountainous area on foot in heavy fog.

The 63-year-old was elected president at the second attempt in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.

In Iran's dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is the supreme leader rather than the president who has the final say on all major policies.

But many see Raisi as a strong contender to succeed his 85-year-old mentor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has strongly endorsed Raisi's main policies.

Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi told state TV only that one of the helicopters in a group of three had come down hard, and that authorities were awaiting further details.

At least nine of the 46 protesters arrested that night inside the barricaded Hamilton Hall on April 30th.

Raisi had been at the Azerbaijani border to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalaisi Dam, a joint project.

Source: Reuters, Staff, May 19, 2024. 5:16 PM GMT+2

Iran’s president, foreign minister and others found dead at helicopter crash site

Raisi is directly guilty of the deaths of thousands of Iranians fighting for freedom and dignity; with its drones delivered to Russia, he has thousands of Ukrainian deaths on his conscience. The Iranian regime is responsible for thousands of victims in Syria, alongside Assad and Putin.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, aka "The Butcher of Tehran", the country’s foreign minister and several other officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, state media reported.

Khamenei announced Monday that Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, would serve as the country’s acting president until elections are held.

During Raisi’s term in office, Iran enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels, further escalating tensions with the West as Tehran also supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and armed militia groups across the region.

Meanwhile, Iran has faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over its ailing economy and women’s rights — making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country.

State TV gave no immediate cause for the crash that occurred in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed his condolences. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a statement released by the Kremlin, described Raisi “as a true friend of Russia.”

Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also has continued arming proxy groups in the Mideast, like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, mass protests in the country have raged for years. The most recent involved the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been earlier detained over allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities. The monthslong security crackdown that followed the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.

In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the “physical violence” that led to Amini’s death.

Source: The Associated Press, Staff, May 20, 2024

Important facts about Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, dead after helicopter crash

- Played key roles in political executions and unjust imprisonments of countless Iranians over the last three decades.

- Presidency marked by severe and escalated repression against peaceful dissent

- 1988 Death Commission: In 1988, Raisi was appointed to a four-man “death commission” by then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. This commission paved the way for at least 4,500-5,000 prisoners to be executed and buried in unmarked mass graves, based on the committee’s determination of their “loyalty” to the newly established Islamic Republic. These prisoners had already been tried and were serving their issued prison sentences.

- Judiciary Chief Appointment: Appointed as judiciary chief by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in March 2019, Raisi ran for president virtually uncontested in 2021.

- Harsher Forced-Hijab Enforcement: Personally ordered stricter enforcement of the state's compulsory hijab policy in July 2022, two months before the killing in state custody of Jina Mahsa Amini after the morality police arrested her for her alleged inappropriate hijab. Despite women across the nation increasingly refusing to wear hijabs in public, Raisi's government has tried to push through a new bill that would further punish hijabless women, as well as those who serve or employ them, moving the state further into the category of gender apartheid

- Escalation of State Repression: Has presided over a stunning escalation of state repression and violence against peaceful dissent, including surging executions and arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters, as well as increased erosion of women's and human rights.

Source: Iran Human Rights, May 19, 2024

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