Iranian President Raisi feared dead following helicopter crash as state media says ‘no sign of life’

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is feared to have died in a helicopter crash along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, state media reported Monday.

Iranian state television reported there was “no sign of life” at the crash site of the helicopter that carried Raisi, Amirabdollahian, and others.

“All the passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred,” semi-official news agency Mehr News reported. There has not been any official confirmation about the president’s death.

Drone footage published on state media FARS News Agency showed the chopper’s wreckage on a steep hillside.

“The consequences of this are probably going to be rather contained,” Ali Ahmadi, executive fellow at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”

President Raisi was a fairly marginal figure in national security decision, said Ahmadi, adding that Iranian foreign policy is principally governed by the Office of the Supreme Leader and the Iranian military. “The overall outline of Iranian foreign policy is not likely to change significantly.”

Raisi was returning after inaugurating a dam on Iran’s common border with the Azerbaijan Republic, when his helicopter crashed upon landing in northern Iran’s Varzaqan region on Sunday evening local time, according to state news agency IRNA.

East Azerbaijan’s governor, Malik Rahmati, and Raisi’s security detail were also in the helicopter.

The president’s convoy included three helicopters, two of which landed safely, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. 

Communication with Raisi’s chopper was cut off about half an hour into the flight, Iran’s Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri said. Raisi was travelling to Tabriz city to launch an oil project.

Inclement weather conditions and impassibility of the area had hampered search and rescue operations, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps’ chief Pirhossein Koulivand, reportedly said.

Turkey and Russia had sent aircraft to help with the search operations.

Raisi, 63, a hardline, conservative politician was elected president in 2021 after failing to get into the office in 2017.

An established political heavyweight, he was seen as a contender to succeed supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. As president, he cracked down on dissent at home.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates