According to a report by Iranian state television on the 20th, the wreckage of the helicopter in which Iranian President Raisi was traveling has been found, and no signs of life have been found so far. Iranian officials told Reuters that all passengers in the helicopter were presumed dead.
After the "hard landing" accident of the helicopter in which Iranian President Raisi was riding, the international community paid great attention to it, and a lot of news and speculation followed. What caused the accident? What is the reaction of local public opinion in Iran? The plane that Raisi was flying on was American-made, how to analyze and look at this accident, and whether there was a mastermind behind it?
This article is excerpted from the observation report of Li Rui, a reporter of Phoenix Satellite TV in Iran, and the comments and analysis of Mr. Wang Jin, associate professor of the Institute of Middle East Studies of Northwest University——
Phoenix Satellite TV correspondent in Iran Li Rui:
According to Iranian media reports, Raisi and others were flying in the Bell 212, an old helicopter made in 1968 by the United States, which was a batch of helicopters purchased by Iran from the United States before 1979. Since Iran has been sanctioned by the United States for more than 40 years, it is difficult for these old American-made helicopters to obtain normal equipment parts to replace them, and plane crashes have occurred from time to time.
However, taking a helicopter to official events is something that Iranian leaders are more accustomed to doing and often do, because it is fast, does not need to get stuck in traffic, and saves time, but it is actually very dangerous and helpless. Two years ago, Iran's sports minister was killed in a crash while flying in this vintage helicopter for official business.
At present, there is a lot of speculation on social media. There is a speculation that Raisi went to the border between Azerbaijan and Iran to participate in the event, and Azerbaijan has good relations with Israel and the United States, so it may have caused the plane accident through signal settings, but this is only speculation by netizens.
Iranian officials believe that it was bad weather that caused the plane's hard landing. There are three possible causes analyzed by Iranian state television: one is the weather, the second is the failure of the aircraft, and the other is an operational problem.
All kinds of speculation, waiting for the final official investigation conclusions.
Wang Jin, associate professor of the Institute of Middle East Studies, Northwest University:
Will there be foreign intelligence agencies interfering? At the moment, I think it's too early to make such a judgment. Because the investigation into the cause of the accident has not yet been fully launched.
Iran's domestic helicopters and some other important transportation facilities have been in service for more than thirty or forty years, and since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, Iran's aircraft, especially some helicopters, have been difficult to maintain and update.
Against this backdrop, President Raisi's helicopter "hard landing" is more likely to be due to mechanical failure or weather factors.
Of course, we cannot completely rule out sabotage or infiltration by foreign intelligence agencies. In the past, Israeli intelligence agencies have been embedded in Iran and have repeatedly engaged in similar incidents, such as assassinations or other sabotage activities. But from the current point of view, the investigation of the incident has not kept up, and similar conclusions cannot be drawn.
Source: Phoenix Satellite TV Information Channel