Iran: The imam was alive for an hour after the helicopter crash

More and more information is emerging about the Iranian President’s helicopter crash that resulted in the deaths of Ebrahim Raishi himself, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdolakhian and seven other people.

In particular, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, Malek Rahmati, the imam of Friday prayers in Tabriz, Muhammad Ali Al-Hashim, the pilot and co-pilot of the helicopter, the crew chief, the head of security and the bodyguard, were on board the plane. .

The helicopter disappeared from radar screens on Sunday afternoon (5/19) while flying over a rugged forest area in northwestern Iran amid bad weather conditions with heavy rain and fog. Its wreckage was found at dawn today on the mountainside.

The footage shows the process of transporting the bodies of the martyrs by the Iranian Red Crescent Society and army guards pic.twitter.com/oJtEiEc0U6

— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) May 20, 2024

In fact, Muhammad Ali al-Hashim, an Islamic religious leader from the town to which the Islamist officials were traveling in northwestern Iran, appears to have survived the incident for an hour and tried to get help.

According to Mohammad Nami, head of Iran’s Crisis Management Agency, the imam survived for 60 minutes after the helicopter crash, trying to contact the president’s office.

Five days of national mourning in the country following the death of the country’s president and foreign minister

It is worth noting that in the first hours after the plane crash, there were reports of contact between two people who were on board the helicopter with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Meanwhile, according to what was reported by the BBC, Nami said: “There was no need to conduct DNA tests to identify the passengers.”

Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported that Raisi’s funeral will be held tomorrow in Tabriz.

Video from inside the helicopter before it crashed

Meanwhile, Iranian state television broadcast a video clip from inside the helicopter before it crashed, showing Ebrahim Raisi with Hossein Amirabdulkhiyan.

The video includes footage of their visit from the opening ceremony of a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, which they attended.

Five days of national mourning in Iran

Today, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expressed his condolences on the death of the country’s president, Ebrahim Raichi, and announced that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would assume the position of interim president, and he has 50 days to organize presidential elections, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

Ayatollah Ali noted that “based on Article 131 of the Constitution, the informant assumes leadership of the executive authority,” and he must, in consultation with the heads of the legislative and judicial branches, organize “elections for a new president within fifty days at most.” Khamenei.

Iran’s Supreme Leader also declared five days of national mourning in the country over the death of the country’s president and foreign minister.

“I declare national mourning for five days and offer my condolences to the dear Iranian people,” the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a statement issued a few hours after announcing the death of the country’s president.

An informant, like Raishi, is considered close to Khamenei, who has the final say on Iranian state affairs. Mokhbar became first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.

At the same time, the Iranian government announced today that it has appointed Ali Bagheri Khani as interim Minister of Foreign Affairs following the death of Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdolkhian.

Messages of condolence from the international community

After this tragic development, the international community collectively expressed its condolences over the tragic loss of the Iranian president, and the Middle East entered a state of mourning.

Meanwhile, Israel announced that it had nothing to do with the death of the Iranian president. “It was not us,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, according to Reuters.

Al-Raishi’s death comes at a tense time, with Iran’s relations with Israel and the West strained due to the war in Gaza.

Hamas and Hezbollah expressed their condolences to the Iranian people, with the Palestinian organization saying that Raishi supports the Palestinian struggle.

“These leaders supported the legitimate struggle of our people against the Zionist entity, provided valuable support to the Palestinian resistance, and made tireless efforts in solidarity and support in all forums and sectors for our people in the Gaza Strip who remained steadfast during the Al-Aqsa battle.” Flood. They also made great political and diplomatic efforts to stop the Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people.

Lebanon declared three days of national mourning over the deaths of Ibrahim Raisi and Hussein Amir Abd al-Khayan.

In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad also expressed his condolences to Iran, declaring his “solidarity” with Tehran, which has supported him since the start of the civil war in his country.

Abu Dhabi, which renewed its relations with Tehran after years of tension, expressed its “solidarity with Iran in these difficult times,” as UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed noted.

“I express my sincere condolences to the government and people of Iran following the death of President Ebrahim Raichi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and the people accompanying them following a tragic accident,” he wrote in Khe.

Also on the same platform, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, described the news as “sad” and expressed his “sincere condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

A day of mourning in Pakistan

Pakistan will observe a day of mourning and flags will be flown at half-mast in memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation who were killed in a helicopter crash yesterday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a post on Platform

“The great Iranian nation will overcome this tragedy, as it always does, with courage,” Sharif said.

“Deep sadness” from Türkiye

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said today that Turkey “feels the pain of a friend and brother of the Iranian people,” after announcing the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Fidan added in a press conference: “Unfortunately, the news that came from Iran caused us deep sadness.”

He added, “From the first moment we learned of the accident, we were in contact with the Iranian authorities and mobilized all means to assist in the (rescue) efforts.” Fidan added in a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar: “The relevant institutions, including the Ministry of Defense and the Disaster Response Authority (DRA), made great efforts.” “AFAD did its best, but unfortunately we were not able to get good news.”

Our condolences to the people of Iran, NATO and the European Union

NATO also expressed its condolences to the Iranian people on the death of its president and foreign minister, who were killed in the helicopter crash.

In particular, NATO Representative Farah Dakhleh, in her post on Platform

Our condolences to the families #Iran Due to the death of President Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir Abdullahian and others who died in the helicopter crash.

– NATO spokesman Farah Dakhlallah (@NATOpress) May 20, 2024

In turn, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, wrote that the European Union expresses its condolences on the death of Ibrahim Raisi and Hussein Amir Abdelkhiyan.

The EU Diplomatic Service statement specifically said: “The European Union expresses its condolences on the death of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raichi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and other Iranian officials who were involved in the tragic helicopter crash on Sunday. It offers The European Union extends its condolences to the families of all the victims and the affected Iranian citizens.”