What we know about the “crash landing” of an Iranian presidential helicopter and the search for head of state Ebrahim Raïssi

The official Iranian news agency reported that the leader, elected in 2021, was among the passengers of the plane, the victim of an incident in the northwest of the country.

Searches were underway on Sunday, May 19, in the northwest of Iran, to find a helicopter on board of which President Ebrahim Raïssi was likely. The plane did not arrive at its destination after traveling to East Azerbaijan province, officials and state media said.

Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about this accident involving one of the leaders of the Islamic Republic.

Presidential helicopter suffers ‘hard landing’

A presidential helicopter suffered “a hard landing”, according to the Associated Press, citing Iranian state television. The incident took place in the northwest of the country, near Jolfa, a town close to the border with Azerbaijan, according to the same source. It is a mountainous region and difficult to access.

A search was launched to find the helicopter, but was made difficult by the “unfavorable weather conditions”including fog, Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi said on state television. “It may take time to reach the area”he added.

The president not found

The Minister of the Interior did not confirm whether President Ebrahim Raïssi was on board the aircraft, which was part of a convoy of three helicopters carrying the presidential delegation. Two of them landed safely in Tabriz, the large city in the northwest, but not the one in which Ebrahim Raïssi was.

The official Irna news agency assured that Ebrahim Raïssi, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were among the passengers of the plane, with the governor of the province and the main imam of the region. The Irna agency added that “more than 20 fully equipped rescue teams including drones and rescue dogs”had “been sent there”.

Ebrahim Raïssi visited the province of Eastern Azerbaijan on Sunday, where he notably inaugurated a dam in the company of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, on the border between the two countries. During’a joint press conference, he once again gave his support to the Palestinians in the war in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israel.

Ebrahim Raïssi, an ultraconservative in power since June 2021

Ebrahim Raïssi, a 63-year-old ayatollah, has been president of the Islamic Republic since June 2021. Considered an ultraconservative, he was elected in the first round of a vote marked by a record abstention for a presidential election and the absence of competitors weight. Always wearing his black turban and wearing a long religious cloak, he succeeded the moderate Hassan Rouhani, who beat him in the 2017 presidential election and could no longer run again after two consecutive terms.

The president emerged strengthened following the legislative elections held last March. It was the first national vote since the protest movement which shook Iran at the end of 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for non-compliance with the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Ebrahim Raïssi is on the American blacklist of Iranian officials sanctioned by Washington for “complicity in serious human rights violations”.