A helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi has had to make a “hard landing” after it got in difficulties, state media reports.
The details of what happened remain unclear, but here’s a look at what we know so far:
According to local media, Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz, in the north west of Iran, after returning from the border with Azerbaijan, where he opened the Qiz Qalasi and Khodaafarin dams (Alongside Azerbaijani President)
The helicopter was one of three travelling in a convoy
Iran’s interior minister says rescuers are still trying to reach the site, but their efforts are being hampered by poor weather conditions
A reporter with Fars news agency says visibility in the mountainous and wooded area was down to only about five meters. The area is about 50km to the north of Tabriz
Ahmad Alirezabeigi, an Iranian MP for the city of Tabriz, says that emergency rescue workers have yet to find the location of the helicopter carrying the president
He says two other two helicopters in the convoy landed safely.
Who is Ebrahim Raisi?
Raisi, 63, was elected president on his second attempt in 2021. He is seen as a hardline cleric and regarded as a potential successor one day to Ayatollah Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader since 1989.
In 2019, the Supreme Leader named him to the powerful position of head of the judiciary.
Raisi was also elected as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member clerical body responsible for electing the next Supreme Leader.
Lots of crazy spin ongoing
Some Israel media outlets have been claiming the leader is dead- this is not confirmed
Azerbaijan ready to provide support, following President Raisi’s helicopter crash
The weather looks to be terrible- But one cannot discount any other possibilities