Iran’s army chief of staff has ordered the utilisation of all its resources to help in the search and rescue operations related to Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash, state media has reported.
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s ‘life is at risk’ after he was involved in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan.
A frantic search mission is underway after the aircraft, which was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province near Jolfa, around 375 miles northwest of Tehran, suffered a ‘hard landing’ on Sunday, according to Iranian state television.
The helicopter was one of a convoy of three and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Friday prayer Imam Seyyed Mohammad-Ali Al-Hashem and other high-ranking officials were also reportedly on the helicopter with the president.
The lives of President Raisi and foreign minister Amirabdollahian are at risk following the crash over mountain terrain, an Iranian official told Reuters.
All army and Iranian guard resources are being utilized in the search efforts for the helicopter.
Some began urging the public to pray for Raisi and the others on board as rescue crews sped through a misty, rural forest where his helicopter was believed to be.
The US is “closely watching” reports of the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a US State Department spokesperson has said.
Iraq has offered to help Iran in its search and rescue operation, its government has said.
Iraq’s interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other relevant bodies have been instructed to offer their services, it added in a statement.
The cause of Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash is still unknown, and there are several possible reasons it may have been forced to make a hard landing.
The president of Azerbaijan has said he was “seriously worried” after hearing about Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash.
Ilham Aliyev had met the Iranian president earlier today for the inauguration of a dam in Azerbaijan.
Pakistan’s prime minister says he is “waiting with great anxiety” for a positive update after Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash.
“Our prayers and best wishes are with Hon President Raisi and the entire Iranian nation,” he adds.
Rescuers have not reached the crash site of a helicopter carrying Iran’s president and foreign minister, according to an Iranian government spokesperson.
The European Commission has activated its satellite mapping service to help look for Iran’s president.
Crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic said on X that the service was turning on its “rapid response mapping service in view of the helicopter accident.”
Contact has been made with a passenger and a crew member of the Iranian president’s helicopter, an official has told state TV.
The unnamed official said contact has been made on several occasions.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sought to reassure the public following the helicopter crash involving Ebrahim Raisi.
“We hope that God the almighty returns the dear president and his colleagues in full health to the arms of the nation,” he told state TV.
