(Dan Tri) – On the helicopter that crashed while carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi were three other high-ranking officials, along with crew members and security staff.
According to the semi-official news agency Tasnim, the helicopter carrying President Raisi had problems and had to `land very difficult` on May 19 when he went to inspect East Azerbaijan province.
After hours of search efforts, rescue teams discovered the helicopter crash site in Julfa, northwest of Tehran.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (Photo: Reuters).
Head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society Pir-Hossein Koulivand said the rescue team had approached the scene of the helicopter crash carrying President Raisi and `found no signs of survival from those on board.`
According to news site Tasnim, the missing helicopter was carrying nine people, including four high-ranking officials, security personnel and crew members.
Mehr News quoted well-informed sources as saying that there were no survivors among the 9 people on the helicopter, but Iran has not yet officially spoken about the incident.
Iranian state media said that in addition to President Raisi, on the crashed helicopter were Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, representative of Iran’s supreme leader.
President Raisi, 63 years old, is one of the most important figures in Iranian politics.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Photo: NBC News).
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, 60 years old, is a veteran diplomat.
Mr. Abdollahian held the position of deputy foreign minister in charge of Arab and African affairs in 2011. In 2021, he was appointed foreign minister under President Raisi.
Mr. Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem (Photo: Wiki).
In addition, on the crashed helicopter was Mr. Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, 62 years old, a cleric in Tabriz and a representative of Iran’s supreme leader in East Azerbaijan province.
Mr. Ale-Hashem is considered a deputy provincial leader in the Assembly of Experts and a provincial member of the Iranian Emergency Council.
Governor of East Azerbaijan Malek Rahmati (Photo: IRNA).
Another name on the helicopter was East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati.
East Azerbaijan is the largest and most populous of Iran’s three northwestern provinces.
This is the first time Iran has experienced a situation where the helicopter carrying the President and Foreign Minister went missing and there was a lot of uncertainty.
According to the Iranian Constitution, in the event of the president’s death or incapacity, the first vice president will take over and assume the presidential functions until elections are held within the maximum period of time.
