Iran’s President and Foreign Minister feared dead in helicopter crash | BBC News

Iran’s President and Foreign Minister feared dead in helicopter crash | BBC News

a major search operation is underway after a helicopter carrying Iran’s president and its foreign minister crashed in the northwest of the country in thick fog president Ibrahim RI had been returning from a visit to the border with neighboring aeran Mass prayers are being said in Iran as the search continues our correspondent Caroline Hy is here with what we know so far Caroline thanks Jane well these are the two men missing after the crash president rice on the left the country’s foreign minister Hussein Amir Abdullah on the right they’d both been on a day trip today to Iran’s border region with aaban inaugurating a new dam project right here we’ve got an image of him at the site of the dam and the helicopter he was traveling in now a convoy of three helicopters is believed to have then traveled across Iranian territory two returned back safely but the one carrying the president and foreign minister crashed in mountainous territory in heavy fog in the Jola region On the Border all contact with it was then lost you can see how bad conditions were in the area as the rescue operation was underway a fleet of ambulances on standby the Army is reported to have ordered all resources needed to be thrown at the search members of Iran’s red crescent scoured the rugged landscape on foot for any sign of the missing helicopter but poor visibility made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the scene of the crash even to locate it there are currently three drone teams in the area but due to the thick fog and low visibility the drones were not able to successfully operate there are also three teams with rescue dogs in the area we are searching and we hope we’ll be able to reach positive results very soon the first indication that something had gone wrong came on state run television there are unconfirmed reports of an incident involving the helicopter carrying the president in the Jola region initial reports cite a hard Landing for the helicopter carrying the president president RI seen here earlier with his counterpart from aaban is a hardliner number two to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah who is the ultimate Authority in Iran also missing is Iran’s foreign minister a familiar figure on the international stage he’d been involved in many negotiations including over the country’s nuclear program regime supporters came out to pray for the president these images broadcast on state run TV though not everyone in Iran is praying for his survival the regime is not popular with many Iranians who’d like to see an end to the Islamic Republic but from its most senior leader a message of calm of continuity hope that God will return the president and fellow Travelers to the people the Iranian Nation must not be worried and rest assured there will be no disruption to Running of the country late at night there’s still no news of the fate of the president and his foreign minister several Arab countries have offered assistance turkey has sent a mountain rescue team and the EU will help with a satellite mapping service at the request of Teran the world is watching closely what happens next in Iran and so Caroline tonight as we await further news how significant is all of this internationally well the world is watching closely because Iran is such a pivotal country in the Middle East and it’s such a turbulent time at the moment with the war in Gaza and all the spillover of that so what happens in Iran matters to the world now under the Constitution if the president were not to survive there is a process uh the first vice president would step in there would be elections with in I think it’s 50 days maybe a bit longer uh now he’s a conservative so you wouldn’t expect any dramatic change of policy but president REI has been a key and controversial figure in Iran for many decades he was tipped to be successor to the supreme leader who is the ultimate Authority in Iran that supreme leader is now 85 years old so it’s a time of great challenge for Iran both inside the country and abroad challenges for example the protests that you may over dress codes in Iran so it is really an extraordinary moment for the country and many people in the region will be watching closely to see how things unfold at a time of such great turmoil Caroline all right thank you for now Caroline Hy

A huge search operation is underway in Iran after a helicopter carrying the country’s President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in the mountainous north-west of the country in heavy fog. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was also on the aircraft.

The men had been visiting Iran’s remote mountain border region with Azerbaijan to inaugurate a new dam project. Two other helicopters in the convoy made the journey safely.

Rescue teams are attempting to locate the helicopter but are being hampered by very poor weather. Iran’s army is reported to have ordered that all resources needed be sent to the search area. The Red Crescent is helping with the search operation. Drones and rescue dogs are being used in the attempt to locate the helicopter. Countries in the region including Turkey have offered assistance with the search.

Mass prayers are being said in mosques in Iran. Iran’s state-run television first announced news of what they described as a “hard-landing”. The country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a message of calm, saying he hoped that God would return the President to the people. He told Iranians that there would be no disruption to the running of the country.

President Raisi has been a key and controversial figure in Iran for many decades, regarded as a hardliner within the Islamic Republic’s leadership. The accident comes at a time of high tension in the Middle East, with the war in Gaza and fears that the conflict could widen.

Israel and the United States have accused Iran of backing militant groups including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Recently Iran fired hundreds of missiles at Israel. An airstrike on a military base in Iran was widely seen as Israel’s response to that attack.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is a well-known figure on the international stage, where he has been involved in talks and negotiations about Iran’s nuclear programme.

Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Caroline Hawley.

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