DUBAI (Reuters) – A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister made a rough landing on Sunday as it flew through a mountainous area in heavy fog on its way back from a visit to Azerbaijan, Iranian news agencies said.
Bad weather hampered rescue efforts, state news agency IRNA reported. The semi-official Fars news agency urged Iranians to pray for Raisi and state television broadcast prayers for his safety.
IRNA said the helicopter in question had carried Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and local officials.
Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi told state television only that one of the helicopters in a group of three had crashed hard and that authorities were awaiting further details.
Raisi, 63, was elected president on the second try in 2021 and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed for nuclear talks with world powers.
In Iran’s dual political system, divided between the clerical establishment and the government, it is the supreme leader, not the president, who has the final say on all major policies.
But many see Raisi as a strong contender to succeed his mentor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has strongly endorsed Raisi’s key policies.
(Reporting by Elwely ElwellyWriting by Aidan LewisEditing by Kevin Liffey)
