According to CCTV News, on May 19, a helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian "had a hard landing accident" in East Azerbaijan Province in Iran. After the accident, Iran quickly organized rescue forces to search and rescue, and Turkey, Russia and other countries immediately sent rescue teams to provide assistance. However, due to the weather, the search and rescue work was extremely difficult, and the place of the incident was not found until the early morning of the 20th.
Iranian President Raisi
Judging from the scene of the accident, except for the blue and white tail, there is basically no other wreckage, which shows how tragic the accident was. Search and rescue forces at the scene, as well as medical personnel, said they saw no signs of life, and the semi-official Iranian media outlet Mehr News Agency has reported that all those on board were killed.
There are two main theories about the cause of the accident. One is the weather, according to the search and rescue footage sent back by the drone, the scene is foggy and the visibility is very low. Another possible reason is the malfunction of the helicopter itself. According to U.S. media reports, the Iranian president and his entourage are carrying an American-made Bell 212 helicopter, although the performance is reliable, but because Iran has been under US sanctions for a long time, the parts required for the maintenance of the helicopter may lack access to access, which also reduces reliability.
Footage from the scene taken by a drone
Of course, there are also claims that the accident was not an accident, but so far, there is no official point to this statement. However, in recent years, the United States and Israel have frequently attacked senior Iranian officials and scientists, so it is easy for the outside world to look at the United States and Israel with suspicion after the accident. In addition, the situation in the Middle East is extremely tense now, and even if all parties admit that it was an accident, public opinion in this situation may not agree with this statement.
In fact, there have been countless helicopter crashes that have occurred on foggy days. For example, in 2021, the helicopter in which the Indian Chief of Defense Staff was traveling also crashed due to foggy weather. However, there is indeed a suspicious point worth discussing about the accident that happened in Iran. Raisi and his party had a total of three helicopters, and the plane on which Raisi and Abdollahian were located crashed, but the other two had already arrived safely. If the report is true, then why did the two helicopters of the same company be safe and sound, but the helicopter in which Leay and others were flying had an accident. After the accident of the helicopter in which the Iranian president was traveling, the other two did not land nearby and cooperate with rescue forces, but arrived directly at their destinations.
Rescue forces arrived at the scene
What is the truth of the facts, I believe that Iran will launch a detailed investigation in the future. For Iran, in addition to investigating the truth, the most important priority is to stabilize the political situation. Although Raisi is the nominal head of state, the core decision-making power is still in the hands of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, so there will be no major chaos in Iran's political situation, but the impact should not be underestimated. After Raisi came to power, he got along well with the major powers and was seen as Khamenei's successor. Now that he has been killed unexpectedly, the battle for a future successor threatens to intensify infighting in Iranian politics.
In this sensitive situation, how to respond to the deaths of the Iranian president, foreign minister, and others is a particularly test for the United States and Israel. The US media said that Biden has listened to the briefing and believes that he will give a positive reply soon. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said intelligence information showed that the accident was caused by weather and that there was no evidence of murder. In addition, Israel has not responded for the time being.
U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer
From a logical point of view, although the United States and Israel are extremely incompatible with Iran, Raisi, as the head of state, if the United States and Israel really do something against him, it will be tantamount to a direct declaration of war. Although the United States and Israel often have no bottom line to act, the possibility of such a provocation is not high. Even if Israel wants to pull the United States into the water, it is unlikely to take such an extreme approach. Whether it's an accident or something else. The unfortunate death of Raisi and his entourage will inevitably add uncertainty to the political situation in Iran and the situation in the Middle East.