A helicopter crash near the Azerbaijan-Iranian border killed Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi of age 63 and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian while flying back to Iran because helicopter was crossing a mountain in heavy fog.
This tragedy occurred when Iran is already facing political and economical issues due to its Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023, as well as its strong military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine.
No official cause of crash has been declared yet, authorities are telling bad weather to be the reason of crash of the US-made Bell 212 helicopter. This helicopter also consists of the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials along with bodyguards. The search and rescue operations are still going on by a Turkish drone to identify the source of heat suspected to be from the helicopter’s wreckage. Authorities also shared the range of crash that is 20 kilometers south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border.