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Iranian official says contact with 2 people aboard president's helicopter indicates crash was "not severe"
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadiand AnneClaire Stapleton
Iranian officials have spoken to two people on the same helicopter as President Ebrahim Raisi since it crashed Sunday, Iranian Vice President for ExecutiveAffairsMohsen Mansouri told the country's semi-official FARSnews agency.
Because officials made contact "several times" with a passenger and member of the flight crew shortly after the crash, "It appears that the incident was not severe,"Mansouri said.
Three helicopters were flying on the same route before two lost contact with Raisi's helicopter, Mansouri said.
"The Ministry of Communications and other security agencies have identified the incident area within a 2-kilometer radius. Due to weather conditions, access to the area is challenging," he said.
Regional leaders express sympathy and offer support to Iran
From CNN's Nechirvan Mando, Hande Atay Alam and Manveena Suri
Leaders across the Middle East and beyond are expressing their sympathies and concern about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials, after their helicopter crashed into the mountainous East Azerbaijan Province on Sunday.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed concern and said he is praying for Raisi in his first comments since the crash, according to state news agency IRNA:
"We hope that Almighty God will return the esteemed President and his companions to the nation. Let everyone pray for the health of this serving group. The Iranian people should not worry; no disruption will occur in the country's affairs."
Despite rising tensions between Pakistan and Iran following a series of strikes early this year, Pakistan's top leaders both sent prayers and best wishes to the entire Iranian nation.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, wrote on X, "My heartfelt prayers & good wishes for the well-being & safety of President Raisi so that he may continue to serve the Iranian nation."
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, wrote on X, "Waiting with great anxiety for good news that all is well. Our prayers and best wishes are with Hon.President Raisi and the entire Iranian nation."
Here's what other leaders are saying:
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, "We stand in solidarity with the Iranian people in this hour of distress, and pray for well being of the President and his entourage."
- A spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister said the country's interior ministry has directed resources from the Iraqi Red Crescent and other authorities to be available to help in the search.
- The Armenian, Saudi Arabian and Turkish foreign ministries all offered to provide support to the rescue operations in posts on X.
- Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid wrote on X, "We contacted the Iranian ambassador, Mr. Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq, who is in Tehran, to inquire about the developments of the incident."
- Nechirvan Barzani, president of Kurdistan region of Iraq, said on X, "I am monitoring the news about President Raisi's helicopter incident. I pray to the Almighty for their safety and well-being."
Iranian president's helicopter has still not been located by rescuers, military officials say
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadiand AnneClaire Stapleton
The exact site where Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter crashed Sunday has still not been located, military officials involved in the rescueoperation said.
"The helicopters of the 6th combat base of Tabriz Air Force arrived in the Varzeqan area according to the order to carry out relief operations," theCommander of Iran's 6th Air Force Base said Sunday. "These helicopters, along with the rescue team, were sent to the helicopter accident area of the president's convoy from the early hours. Unfortunately, the operation failed due to unfavorable weather conditions."
Officials have said rescuers are facing dense fog and extreme cold as the night grows later in Iran. It's currently just before 9:30 p.m. local time.
The European Union is activating the Copernicus EMS satellite mapping service in response to the crash, following an "Iranian request for assistance," European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčičsaid in a post on X.
Here is how succession would work in the case of a president's death in Iran
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadiand AnneClaire Stapleton
The Iranian Constitution mandates that in the case of the death of the president, the first vice president shall assume, with the approval of the Supreme Leader, the powers and functions of the president.
First Vice President MohammadMokhber would assume the role if the current president dies and Iran's Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei approves. Officials said earlier that Mokhber was en route to the area where the president's helicopter went down.
Additionally, the constitution mandates the three heads of the branches of government — the vice president, speaker of the parliament and the head of the judiciary — must arrange for an election to choose a new leader within 50 days of the vice president assuming the role of acting president.
Keep in mind: Iran's supreme leader serves as the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the Islamic Republic, dwarfing the powers of the country's president.
Unlike his predecessor, the moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, Raisi has fostered a close alliance with Khamenei.Many Iranians believe Raisi is being groomed to be elevated to the supreme leadership.
Biden has been briefed on Iranian helicopter crash
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to the White House.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, accompanying Biden aboard Air Force One on Sunday, offered no other details.
No update on Iranian president after helicopter crash, government spokesperson says
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi
Rescuers have not reached the crash site of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and have no update on their status, according to Iran government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi.
In a statement on X, Jahromi said rescue teams are "experiencing difficult and complicated conditions," and acknowledged it is "the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the president's helicopter accident, but according to the coordinates of the accident site and the weather conditions, there is 'no' new news until now."
Azerbaijan's president offers support after Iranian president's helicopter crashes near border
From CNN's Hande Atay Alam
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said his country is ready to provide support after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed Sunday in a remote, mountainous province near the border between the two countries.
Iranian state news agency Press TV reported Raisi and Aliyev inaugurated a dam project on the border Sunday, prior to the crash in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province. Part of the province's northern border is shared with Azerbaijan.
"Today, after bidding a friendly farewell to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, we were profoundly troubled by the news of a helicopter carrying the top delegation crash-landing in Iran," Aliyev said in a post on X. "Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation. As a neighbor, friend, and brotherly country, the Republic of Azerbaijan stands ready to offer any assistance needed."
Extreme cold could prevent rescuers from reaching helicopter crash site, Iranian media reports
From CNN's Anne-Claire Stapleton
Rescue teams are making all attempts to reach the Iranian president's helicopter quickly, Iran'ssemi-official Tasnim news agencyreports.
Weather reports indicate that in the next two hours,the weather is expected to become extremelycold in the crash site area, which could prevent the rescuers from progressing, Tasnim reports.
The Iranian government is asking for patience, prayer, and trust in the rescuerswho are attempting to reach the site, government spokesperson Ali Bahadori-Jahromi said in a post on X.
The Red Crescent, rescue teams, mountaineersand other rescue groups hope to arrive at the location of the possible coordinates of the president's helicopter in less thanhalfanhour, Tasnim reports.
Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhberis en route to Tabriz, the area where the president's helicopter crashed earlier Sunday, the spokesperson Jahromi said. Some other government officials are en route with him.
Adam Pourahmadi contributed to this report.
Here's what to know about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, as search continues for his crashed helicopter
From CNN's Rosa Rahimi and the Editorial Research team
Born in 1960, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attended the seminary in Qom and earned a Ph.D in law from Shahid Motahari University.
He started his career as a prosecutor in the early 1980s, and rose from being prosecutor general of Tehran in 1994 to chief justice of the country by 2019.
His two years as Iran’s chief justice were marked by the intensified repression of dissent and human rights abuses,according to theCenter for Human Rights in Iran.
Raisi became president of Iran on June 19, 2021, after winning a historically uncompetitive presidential election. Many reform-minded Iranians had refused to take part in an election widely seen as a foregone conclusion. Overall voter turnout was only 48.8% – the lowest since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.
TheUS Department of the Treasury sanctionedRaisi in November 2019, citing his participation in the 1988 “death commission” as a prosecutor, and aUnited Nations reportindicating that Iran’s judiciary approved the execution of at least nine children between 2018 and 2019.
He is the first elected Iranian leader to be under U.S. sanctions.
In 2021, he was elected to the presidency in a contest heavily engineered by the Islamic Republic’s political elite so that he would run virtually unchallenged.His inauguration was seen to signal the start of a new, harder-line era that could herald major shifts in the Islamic Republic’s policies at home and abroad.
Raisi has long opposed engagement with the West, and is a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
Read more details about Raisi's life here.
Correction: This post has been updated to remove a reference to former President Hassan Rouhani running in the 2021 election.
