A helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has been involved in an accident.
Reports say the helicopter – one of three travelling in a convoy – made a “hard landing” after it got into difficulties in heavy fog in the north of the country
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said over 40 teams of rescuers were still trying to reach the site due to the difficult weather conditions
Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz, in the north west of Iran, after returning from an Iran-Azerbaijan border area, according to local media
The European Union says it has activated its rapid response mapping service, known as Copernicus, to help with the search for the crashed helicopter.
The Copernicus system provides mapping products based on satellite imagery.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s leader, expressed hope that the president and accompanying officials will return safely to the nation. He requested prayers for them and assured the Iranian people not to worry, as there will be no issues in running the country.
In the eyes of most Iranians, it is the supreme leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) who make major political and foreign policy decisions.
Raisi is one of the most conservative presidents Iran has ever had and is very close to the supreme leader.
He is also one of the serious contenders to succeed as Iran’s supreme leader.
