DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state television reported, without immediately providing details. .
Raisi was traveling to Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. According to state television, the incident occurred near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan, about 600 kilometers northwest of Iran’s capital Tehran.
State television said rescue teams were trying to reach the scene but were prevented by bad weather in the area. Heavy rain was reported with some wind.
Raisi had arrived in Azerbaijan early Sunday morning to attend the dam’s inauguration ceremony with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. This dam is the third dam built by both countries on the Aras River.
Iran flies a variety of helicopters domestically, but international sanctions have made it difficult to obtain parts. The company’s military aviation history largely predates his 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Raisi, 63, is a hardliner who once led the country’s judiciary. He is seen as a disciple of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after he dies or steps down.
Raisi won Iran’s 2021 presidential election, which had the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Raisi is under sanctions from the United States for his role in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.
Under Raisi, Iran is now enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels, impeding international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war against Ukraine and launched massive drone and missile attacks against Israel during its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also continues to supply weapons to proxy groups in the Middle East, including Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
