19-5-2024 (DUBAI) A helicopter transporting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was forced into a ‘hard landing’ on Sunday, according to reports from Iranian state media outlets. Details surrounding the incident remain scarce, leaving the nation and international observers on tenterhooks.
The high-stakes aerial mishap occurred in East Azerbaijan province, as Raisi was en route from an official visit to the neighbouring nation of Azerbaijan. State television confirmed that the incident took place in the vicinity of Jolfa, a border city situated some 600 kilometres northwest of Tehran, the Iranian capital.
Accompanying Raisi on the ill-fated flight were several high-ranking officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and the governor of East Azerbaijan province. While Iranian news agency IRNA initially refrained from using the word ‘crash’, a local government representative inadvertently described the event as such, though admitting he had yet to reach the site personally.
Both IRNA and state television have remained tight-lipped regarding Raisi’s condition in the aftermath of the hard landing, fuelling widespread speculation and concern.
Rescue efforts to access the remote site have been hampered by inclement weather conditions, including heavy rainfall, fog, and gusty winds. Iranian state media described the area as a densely forested region, likely complicating access for emergency responders.
Raisi’s visit to Azerbaijan earlier on Sunday was intended to inaugurate a dam jointly constructed by the two nations on the Aras River, marking the third such collaborative project. However, the trip occurred against a backdrop of strained bilateral relations, exacerbated by a gun attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran earlier this year and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic ties with Israel, a nation viewed as a regional adversary by Iran’s Shiite theocracy.
Iran’s ageing air fleet, hobbled by international sanctions that hinder the procurement of spare parts, has long been a cause for concern. The country operates a diverse array of helicopters, many of which predate the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
At 63 years of age, Raisi is a hardline figure closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His rise to the presidency in 2021, marred by record-low voter turnout, has fuelled speculation that he could eventually succeed the 85-year-old Khamenei as the nation’s paramount leader.
Raisi’s tenure has been marked by escalating tensions with the West, including Iran’s enrichment of uranium to near-weapons-grade levels, hampering of international inspections, and provision of arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Iran has also intensified its support for regional proxies like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, while launching drone and missile attacks against Israel amid the latter’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
