A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country鈥檚 foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.
The likely crash came as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has also faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women鈥檚 rights 鈥� making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.
Raisi was traveling in Iran鈥檚 East Azerbaijan province. State TV said what it called a 鈥渉ard landing鈥� happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Later, state TV put it farther east near the village of Uzi, but details remained contradictory.
Traveling with Raisi were Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran鈥檚 East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word 鈥渃rash,鈥� but others referred to either a 鈥渉ard landing鈥� or an 鈥渋ncident.鈥�
Neither IRNA nor state TV offered any information on Raisi鈥檚 condition in the hours afterward. However, hard-liners urged the public to pray for him. State TV aired images of hundreds of the faithful, some with their hands outstretched in supplication, praying at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shiite Islam鈥檚 holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country. State television鈥檚 main channel aired the prayers nonstop.
鈥淭he esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog,鈥� Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in comments aired on state TV. 鈥淰arious rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter.鈥�
IRNA called the area a 鈥渇orest鈥� and the region is known to be mountainous as well. State TV aired images of SUVs racing through a wooded area and said they were being hampered by poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind. Rescuers could be seen walking in the fog and mist.
A rescue helicopter tried to reach the area where authorities believe Raisi鈥檚 helicopter was, but it couldn鈥檛 land due to heavy mist, emergency services spokesman Babak Yektaparast told IRNA. Late in the evening, Turkey鈥檚 defense ministry announced that it had sent an unmanned arial vehicle and was preparing to send a helicopter with night vision capabilities to join the search-and-rescue efforts.
Long after the sun set, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi acknowledged that 鈥渨e are experiencing difficult and complicated conditions鈥� in the search.
鈥淚t is the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the president鈥檚 helicopter accident, but considering the coordinates of the incident site and the weather conditions, there is 鈥榥o鈥� new news whatsoever until now,鈥� he wrote on the social platform X. 鈥淚n these moments, patience, prayer and trust in relief groups are the way forward.鈥�
Khamenei himself also urged the public to pray.
鈥淲e hope that God the Almighty returns the dear president and his colleagues in full health to the arms of the nation,鈥� Khamenei said, drawing an 鈥渁men鈥� from the audience he was addressing.
Raisi, 63, a hard-liner who formerly led the country鈥檚 judiciary, is viewed as a prot茅g茅 of Khamenei and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after Khamenei鈥檚 death or resignation from the role.
Raisi had been on the border with Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan鈥檚 President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations built on the Aras River. The visit came despite chilly relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on Azerbaijan鈥檚 Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Azerbaijan鈥檚 diplomatic relations with Israel, which Iran鈥檚 Shiite theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.
Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts for them. Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. IRNA published images it described as Raisi taking off in what resembled a Bell helicopter, with a blue-and-white paint scheme previously seen in published photographs.
Raisi won Iran鈥檚 2021 presidential election, a vote that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic鈥檚 history. Raisi is sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.
Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also has continued arming proxy groups in the Mideast, like Yemen鈥檚 Houthi rebels and Lebanon鈥檚 Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, mass protests in the country have raged for years. The most recent involved the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been earlier detained over allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities. The monthslong security crackdown that followed the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.
In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the 鈥減hysical violence鈥� that led to Amini鈥檚 death.
President Joe Biden was briefed by aides on the Iran crash, but administration officials have not learned much more than what is being reported publicly by Iran state media, said a senior administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
