-News/Comments, May 20, 2024
Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi Iran’s and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian have been killed in a helicopter crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. Rescuers found the crash site after an hours-long search in difficult weather.
Sources at the US State Department have said they are aware of reports of the helicopter going down somewhere between Tabriz and Tehran, the Iranian capital.
But beyond that, the State Department doesn’t have any comment on the situation. It’s important to remember that since 1979, the United States and Iran have not enjoyed diplomatic relations. If there are any engagements between the two governments it’s through third parties.
And certainly the US would not be offering any assistance to help in the search for the helicopter carrying the Iranian president, as would be the case of an allied helicopter going down.
Crashed helicopter found by search teams: State television
That’s according to the Reuters news agency, which quoted state television. There are no details as to the conditions of President Raisi and the other officials on board.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey ready to assist with Raisi helicopter crash
Riyadh has expressed its support for Iran and said it was ready to provide any help required. The Saudi foreign ministry also said the kingdom was following reports about the crash with “great concern”, according to the Saudi state news agency. Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign ministry says it is also ready to support the search-and-rescue operation.
Search team lead remains hopeful as contact was made with helicopter
One of the officials on Raisi’s helicopter and a member of the flight crew made contact after the helicopter suffered the incident, according to Mohsen Mansouri, the deputy to the president for executive affairs.
“This was one of the hopeful points in this. This shows that the severity of the incident was not very high because two of the people who were on the flight contacted our people on several instances,” the official, who is leading the search at the site, told state television.
The Red Crescent said 65 teams are now working in the area, and officials believe they are close to finding the helicopter.
-Aljazeera News
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