Imethibitishwa kuwa raisi wa Iran alikuwa ndani ya helicopter hiyo iliyopata ajali.
Vikosi vya uokoaji vimeshindwa kutambua na kufika neo husika ilipotokea ajali hiyo kwa sababu ya hali mbaya ya hewa.
Wengine waliokuwa kwenye helicopter hiyo ni pamoja na Governor wa East Azarbaijan, Ayatollah Al-Hashem na waziri wa mambo ya nje ya Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
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Helicopter carrying Iran's hard-line president apparently crashes in foggy, mountainous region
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) β A helicopter carrying
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the countryβs foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.
The likely crash came as
Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has also faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and womenβs rights β making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.
Raisi was traveling in Iranβs East Azerbaijan province. State TV said what it called a βhard landingβ happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Later, state TV put it farther east near the village of Uzi, but details remained contradictory.
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Traveling with Raisi were Iranβs Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iranβs East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word βcrash,β but others referred to either a βhard landingβ or an βincident.β
Neither IRNA nor state TV offered any information on Raisiβs condition in the hours afterward. However, hard-liners urged the public to pray for him. State TV later aired images of the faithful praying at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shiite Islamβs holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country. State televisionβs main channel aired the prayers nonstop.
βThe esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog,β Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in comments aired on state TV. βVarious rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter.β
βThe region is a bit (rugged) and itβs difficult to make contact,β he added. βWe are waiting for rescue teams to reach the landing site and give us more information.β
In this photo provided by Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi takes off at the Iranian border with Azerbaijan after President Raisi and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi suffered a βhard landingβ on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. (Ali Hamed Haghdoust/IRNA via AP)
IRNA called the area a βforestβ and the region is known to be mountainous as well. State TV aired images of SUVs racing through a wooded area and said they were being hampered by poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind.
A rescue helicopter tried to reach the area where authorities believe Raisiβs helicopter was, but it couldnβt land due to the heavy mist, emergency services spokesman Babak Yektaparast told IRNA.
Long after the sun set, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi acknowledged that βwe are experiencing difficult and complicated conditionsβ in the search.
βIt is the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the presidentβs helicopter accident, but considering the coordinates of the incident site and the weather conditions, there is βnoβ new news whatsoever until now,β he wrote on the social platform X. βIn these moments, patience, prayer and trust in relief groups are the way forward.β
Raisi had been on the border with Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijanβs President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations built on the Aras River. The visit came despite
chilly relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on Azerbaijanβs Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Azerbaijanβs diplomatic relations with Israel, which Iranβs Shiite theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.
Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts for them. Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. IRNA published images it described as Raisi taking off in what resembled a Bell 412 helicopter, with a blue-and-white paint scheme previously seen in published photographs.
Raisi, 63, is a hard-liner who formerly led the countryβs judiciary. He is viewed as a protΓ©gΓ© of Khamenei and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after his death or resignation from the role.
This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo)
Raisi
won Iranβs 2021 presidential election, a vote that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republicβs history. Raisi is sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.
Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also has continued arming proxy groups in the Mideast, like Yemenβs Houthi rebels and Lebanonβs Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, mass protests in the country have raged for years. The most recent involved the 2022 death of
Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been earlier detained over allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities. The monthslong security crackdown that followed the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.
In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the βphysical violenceβ that led to Aminiβs death.
President Joe Biden was briefed by aides on the Iran crash, but administration officials have not learned much more than what is being reported publicly by Iran state media, said a senior administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
UPDATES
Mwenyekiti wa Jumuiya ya βRed Crescentβ Iran, Kolivand, ametangaza kuwa mabaki ya helikopta iliyokuwa imembemba Rais Ebrahim Raisi, Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, na maafisa wengine kadhaa yamepatikana.
Helikopta hiyo ilipatikana kaskazini magharibi kwenye mteremko wa kilima katika eneo la Varzaghan, karibu na mpaka wa Azerbaijan Mashariki.
Mapema saa saba hadi nane zilizopita iliripotiwa kuwa ndege hiyo imepata ajali na wataalamu walianza kuisaka mara moja huku hali mbaya ya hewa ikitajwa kama chanzo cha ajali hiyo.
Hata hivyo, kwa mujibu wa ripoti ya awali ya mwenyekiti wa Red Crescent, hakuna dalili za uhai wa watu kwenye ajali hiyo.
Shirika la habari la Reuters pia limeripoti kuwa helikopta hiyo iliungua kabisa katika ajali hiyo, ikimnukuu afisa wa Iran.
View attachment 2994710View attachment 2994711View attachment 2994712
Mabaki ya helikopta iliyopata ajali
Ebrahim Raisi ni nani, ambaye helikopta yake ilianguka Iran?
Picha za awali kutoka asubuhi ya leo zilionyesha rais wa Iran akiwa ndani ya helikopta hiyo ambayo ililazimika kutua kwa shida wakati wa kurejea kutoka Azerbaijan./ Picha: Reuters
Helikopta ya Rais wa Iran Ebrahim Raisi ilianguka katika eneo karibu na mpaka wa Azerbaijan na Iran huku kukiwa na hali mbaya ya hewa na kutoonekana vizuri, kulingana na Tehran na vyombo vyake vya habari rasmi.
Saa chache kabla ya ajali hiyo, Raisi alitembelea Azerbaijan kwa ajili ya kuzindua mradi wa pamoja wa bwawa kwenye mto Aras, kuashiria kuimarika kwa uhusiano kati ya nchi hizo jirani.
Kwa mujibu wa vyombo vya habari vya Iran, Raisi aliandamana na waziri wake wa mambo ya nje, Hossein Amirabdollahian, na maafisa wengine wakuu.
"Bado hakuna kitu rasmi. Lakini wasiwasi unaongezeka (juu ya hatima ya rais)," anasema Fatima Karimkhan, mwandishi wa habari wa Iran anayeishi Tehran, akizungumzia ajali ya helikopta ya rais katika eneo la milimani katika jimbo la Azerbaijan Mashariki mwa nchi hiyo.
Anasema tofauti na ambavyo baadhi ya vyombo vya habari bado vinaripoti, helikopta hiyo haikupata 'kutua kwa shida' bali ajali. "Hakuna dalili ya helikopta. Ni dalili mbaya,β anaiambia TRT World.
Karimkhan hafikirii kuhusika kwa hujuma nyuma ya ajali ya helikopta ya Raisi licha ya ukweli kwamba "baadhi ya vituo visivyo rasmi vilivyounganishwa na Israeli vinatangaza wazo hilo."
Raisi ni nani?
Rais wa Iran mwenye umri wa miaka 64 amejulikana kwa misimamo yake mikali, na aligombea dhidi ya watu wenye msimamo wa wastani na wapenda mageuzi wa Iran kama mgombea wa kihafidhina katika chaguzi zilizopita.
Mnamo mwaka wa 2017, alikuwa mgombea wa chama maarufu cha Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, kambi ya kihafidhina, dhidi ya Hassan Rouhani, rais wa mageuzi wakati huo.
Ingawa alishindwa dhidi ya Rouhani mwaka wa 2017, alishinda uchaguzi wa rais mwaka 2021 baada ya Baraza la Walinzi la nchi hiyo, taasisi inayoamua ni nani kati ya wagombea hao anaweza kugombea, kuwafuta wagombea 32 wa mageuzi na wenye msimamo wa wastani kabla ya uchaguzi.
Wachambuzi wengi waliona uamuzi wa baraza la hadhi ya juu kama kufungua njia ya ushindi wa Raisi.
Raisi ambaye hapo awali alishika nyadhifa za juu akiwemo Jaji Mkuu wa Iran, mkuu wa mfumo wa mahakama wa Jamhuri ya Kiislamu, anahesabiwa kuwa mshirika wa Kiongozi Muadhamu Ali Khamenei.
Wachambuzi pia wamemwona kama mrithi anayewezekana wa kiongozi mkuu aliyezeeka. Tangu miaka yake ya mapema, Raisi amepata elimu thabiti ya kidini akiwa mwanafunzi wa seminari ya Qom, chuo kikuu cha kidini cha Iran chenye idadi kubwa ya Shia.
Kukabiliana na vita
Chini ya urais wake, Raisi alikabiliwa na mvutano unaoongezeka kutokana na vita vya Ukraine, ambapo Tehran imeiunga mkono Urusi kimya kimya, kwa kuuza ndege zisizo na rubani za Iran kwa Moscow, kwenye mzozo unaoendelea wa Gaza, ambapo Israel imemshutumu adui wake mkuu kwa kutoa mafunzo kwa wapiganaji wa Hamas na kuwapa silaha.
Raisi pia alisimamia mashambulizi ya Iran ya ndege zisizo na rubani na makombora dhidi ya Israel mwezi uliopita.
Chini ya Raisi, Iran imeendelea kurutubisha madini ya uranium, na hivyo kuongeza ukosoaji wa Magharibi na Israel huku mvutano kati ya Tehran na Washington ukiongezeka.
Marekani ilimuwekea vikwazo Raisi kwa kushiriki kwake katika tume ya mahakama yenye utata ya 1988 kama mwendesha mashtaka. Matokeo yake, alikuwa rais wa kwanza wa Iran kuwekewa vikwazo na Marekani.
Kulingana na ripoti ya Umoja wa Mataifa, alitajwa pia kwa jukumu lake katika mahakama ya Iran, ambayo iliidhinisha kunyongwa kwa angalau watoto tisa kati ya 2018 na 2019.
Serikali ya Raisi pia imekosolewa vikali kwa jinsi ilivyoshughulikia kuwekwa kizuizini kwa kwa Mahsa Amini, kulikozua utata mkubwa hasa kw akuw akulisababisha kifo chake, na kusababisha maandamano makubwa nchini kote mwishoni mwa 2022.
Watraalamu wakidiplomasia wanasema uongozi wake umegubikwa na mchanganyiko wa hisia, ndani na nje ya Iran.