An Iranian presidential helicopter was involved in an “accident” in the country’s north-west on Sunday, with the fate of President Ebrahim Raïssi, reported to be one of the passengers, currently uncertain, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA .
Some unverified reports suggest that the helicopter carrying Raïssi crashed in the Eastern Azerbaijan province, state television reported, adding that efforts to locate it were ongoing despite poor weather conditions.
IRNA later stated that both Raïssi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were among the aircraft’s passengers.
The incident occurred near Jolfa, a town on Iran’s border with neighbouring Azerbaijan which is about 600 kilometres from Iran’s capital Tehran.
President Raïssi was in Eastern Azerbaijan province on Sunday where he had inaugurated a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev at the border between the two countries.
State television noted that thick fog in this mountainous region was hampering search efforts.
The 63-year-old Ayatollah Raïssi has been Iran’s president since June 2021.
