On the 20th local time, Iranian President Raisi, Foreign Minister Abdollahian and other senior officials confirmed that they were killed in a helicopter accident. The article discloses the details of the accident and details the lives of Raisi and Abdollahian.
"Hard-Hit Accident"
△On May 19, local time, in Khoda Afarin County, Iranian President Raisi (second from left) attended the dam inauguration ceremony.
On the 19th local time, Iranian President Raisi and Azerbaijani President Aliyev attended the inauguration ceremony of the reservoir dam in Khoda Afarin County. Raisi's helicopter and two other helicopters then traveled from Khoda Afalin County to Tabriz, the capital of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, to attend the inauguration of a petrochemical complex.
△ Leahy on a helicopter
Raisi was in the same helicopter with Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Rahmati and other senior officials. When the helicopter flew over the Varzagan region of the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, a hard landing occurred due to unfavorable weather conditions.
All-out search and rescue
The vicinity of the accident site is a mountainous area, the terrain is complex, and the weather at the time of the accident is bad, foggy and cold, and the visibility is low, so the search and rescue work is very difficult.
After the accident, Iran's First Vice President Mohber convened a cabinet meeting to confirm that Iranian Vice President Mansour and Iran's health minister would go to the scene of the accident, and at the same time mobilize all forces to follow up on the progress of the incident. The Iranian army, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the police committed all their facilities and forces to the search.
Mansour said communication had previously been established with the personnel on board the helicopter in the accident, but the signal was subsequently cut off.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society's emergency management command center, a total of 73 rescue teams were involved in the search and rescue of the accident helicopter, of which 23 rescue teams equipped with specialized equipment have been dispatched from the capital Tehran and neighboring provinces.
After the news of the helicopter accident broke, Turkey, Iraq, and Russia all issued statements and dispatched rescue personnel and equipment in an effort to provide various support for the search and rescue operation.
Among them, the Turkish Ministry of Defense sent a "Ranger" drone. The drone identified the heat source on the morning of the 20th local time, which is likely to be the location of the helicopter accident. The exact coordinates of the place were provided to the Iranian side.
"There is no sign of survival"
△ Pictures disclosed by Iran's Fars news agency show that the helicopter in which President Raisi was traveling in the accident has been found.
On the morning of the 20th, the wreckage of the helicopter in which Leahy was traveling was found, and the rescue team approached the scene of the accident.
Iranian rescue teams used drones to detect the scene of the helicopter accident. Rescuers said that the propellers of the helicopter, as well as the cockpit, were burned out, and the temperature could not be detected by rescuers through thermal imaging. A search of the area of the accident revealed no signs of survival.
Subsequently, Iranian media such as the Mehr News Agency, Iran's official news agency, Iranian state television, and the Iranian vice president confirmed the news of the death of Iranian President Raisi and other crew members on board.
The life of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sayyid Ibrahim Raisi, was born in 1960 in Mashhad, located in northeastern Iran. He has served as Chairman of the National Monitoring Organization of Iran, Attorney General, and Attorney General. On June 19, 2021, Raisi was elected president of Iran and was sworn in on August 5 of the same year. In his inaugural address, Raisi said the people want the new government to deliver on its promises to deliver justice, fight corruption and fight discrimination. The new government will strive to improve people's livelihood by solving economic problems.
Externally, Raisi advocated cooperation with neighboring and friendly countries to offset the impact of US sanctions on Iran.
In addition to Iranian President Raisi, the helicopter involved in the accident also carried Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian and other senior officials. Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian was born in 1964 and graduated from Tehran University with a degree in International Relations. In addition to his native Persian, he is fluent in Arabic and English. Abdollahian served as Iran's Ambassador to Bahrain from 2007 to 2010, Director General of the Persian Gulf and Middle East Department of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2011, Deputy Minister of Arab and African Affairs of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2016, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran since 2021.
Iran's First Vice President will assume the duties of President on an interim basis with the approval of the Supreme Leader
After the crash, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Ali Khamenei expressed the hope that Raisi and his entourage would return home safely, and that the work of the country and the government would not be affected.
After Raisi and others were confirmed to be killed, the Iranian government cabinet held a special meeting to announce the funeral arrangements for Raisi and others.
The Cabinet of Ministers of the Iranian government issued a statement "assuring the country and the people that the path forward of President Raisi will continue and that the governance of the country will not be interfered with."
According to Article 131 of the Iranian Constitution, the First Vice-President of Iran shall assume the powers and duties of the President with the approval of the Supreme Leader in the event of the death, dismissal, resignation, absence or illness of the President for more than two months, or the failure to elect a new President at the end of the presidential term for some reason. The committee, composed of the Speaker of the Islamic Parliament, the Attorney General and the First Vice-President, is obliged to arrange the election of a new President within a maximum of 50 days.