Iran’s Foreign Minister Abdolahein also dies in chopper tragedy
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has also now been declared dead.He was flying 8n the same chopper as the late President Ibrahim Raisi , who was declared dead in the wee hours of Monday, India time.
Iran’s Mehr news agency confirmed the deaths, reporting that “all passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred”.
An Iranian official earlier told Reuters the helicopter carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was completely burned in the crash on Sunday.
State TV reported that images from the site showed the aircraft slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash.
The chopper was part of a three-helicopter convoy returning from Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Sunday. Raisi and Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s President, jointly inaugurated the Qiz Qalasi Dam in the border province.
State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter. Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear programme, had earlier sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.
