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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s ‘life is at risk’ after he was involved in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lives of President Raisi and foreign minister Amirabdollahian are at risk following the crash over mountain terrain, an Iranian official told Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All army and Iranian guard resources are being utilized in the search efforts for the helicopter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US is “closely watching” reports of the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a US State Department spokesperson has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iraq has offered to help Iran in its search and rescue operation, its government has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iraq’s interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other relevant bodies have been instructed to offer their services, it added in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president of Azerbaijan has said he was “seriously worried” after hearing about Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilham Aliyev had met the Iranian president earlier today for the inauguration of a dam in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pakistan’s prime minister says he is “waiting with great anxiety” for a positive update after Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Our prayers and best wishes are with Hon President Raisi and the entire Iranian nation,” he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rescuers have not reached the crash site of a helicopter carrying Iran’s president and foreign minister, according to an Iranian government spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The European Commission has activated its satellite mapping service to help look for Iran’s president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contact has been made with a passenger and a crew member of the Iranian president’s helicopter, an official has told state TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unnamed official said contact has been made on several occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sought to reassure the public following the helicopter crash involving Ebrahim Raisi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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.<\/p>\n