The helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi suffers a “hard landing,” according to state television

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A helicopter transports Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Iran suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. Some urged the public to pray for Raisi and the others on board as rescue workers raced through a foggy, rural forest where his helicopter was believed to be located.

The likely crash comes as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel just last month, enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels than ever before. Meanwhile, Iran has faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over a moribund economy and women’s rights – making this moment all the more sensitive for Tehran and the country’s future as the war between Israel and Hamas heats up the entire Middle East.

Raisi was traveling in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan. State television said the incident occurred near Jolfa, a town on the border with the state of Azerbaijan, about 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital Tehran. State television later reported further east near the village of Uzi, but details remained conflicting.

Traveling with Raisi were Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, state news agency IRNA reported. A local government official used the word “crash” to describe the incident, but admitted to an Iranian newspaper that he had not yet reached the site himself.

Neither IRNA nor state television provided any information about Raisi’s condition in the hours that followed. However, hardliners urged the public to pray for him. State television later broadcast images of worshipers praying at the Imam Reza shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country.

“The esteemed president and the company were on board some helicopters on their way back and one of the helicopters had to make a hard landing due to bad weather and fog,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in comments broadcast on state television. “Various rescue teams are on their way to the area, but due to bad weather and fog it may take some time for them to reach the helicopter.”

He added: “The region is a bit (rough) and it is difficult to make contact. We are waiting for rescue teams to reach the landing site and give us more information.”

Rescuers tried to reach the site, state television said, but were prevented from doing so by poor weather conditions. Heavy rain and fog with some wind were reported. IRNA called the area a “forest,” and the region is also known to be mountainous. State television broadcast images of SUVs speeding through a forested area.

A rescue helicopter attempted to reach the area where authorities suspect Raisi’s helicopter was located, but was unable to land due to heavy fog, rescue service spokesman Babak Yektaparast told IRNA.

Raisi was at the border with Azerbaijan early on Sunday to inaugurate a dam together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third built by the two nations on the Aras River. The visit came anyway cool relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran in 2023 and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic relations with Israel, which sees Iran’s Shiite theocracy as its main enemy in the region.

Iran operates a large number of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain spare parts. The country’s military air fleet largely predates the 1979 Islamic Revolution. IRNA published images showing Raisi taking off in a helicopter resembling a Bell 412 helicopter and painted blue and white, as previously published on saw photos.

Raisi, 63, is a hardliner who formerly headed the country’s judiciary. He is considered Khamenei’s protégé and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after his death or resignation from the position.

Raisi won the 2021 presidential election in Iran, A vote that recorded the lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic. Raisi is sanctioned by the US in part because of his role in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.

Under Raisi, Iran is now enriching uranium to near weapons levels and obstructing international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war against Ukraine and launched a massive drone and missile attack on Israel as part of its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It has also continued to arm proxy groups in the Middle East, such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, mass protests have been raging in the country for years. The most recent case involved the death of in 2022 Mahsa Amini, a woman who had previously been arrested for allegedly not wearing a hijab or headscarf in the interests of the authorities. Months of security crackdowns following the demonstrations left more than 500 people dead and over 22,000 arrested.

In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the “physical violence” that led to Amini’s death.

The US State Department said it was “closely monitoring reports of a possible hard landing of a helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister in Iran.”

It added: “We have no further comment at this time.”

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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.