Iranian state media reported that a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and other top officials made a "hard landing" on Sunday, with no immediate word on casualties.
According to the state-run IRNA media outlet, the helicopter, which was carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and other senior officials, went down in a mountainous region of northwestern Iran as they returned from an event near Iran's border with Azerbaijan.
State media indicated that two of the three helicopters on the trip reached their destination safely, but crews were still searching for the one carrying Raisi.
Iran's Interior Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, confirmed the "hard landing" of the president's helicopter and stated that the search-and-rescue operation is underway. "Various rescue groups are moving towards the site, but due to fog and bad weather, it may take time to reach the area. The work is under control," Vahidi said.
"There have been contacts with [the president's] companions, but given that the area is mountainous and it is difficult to establish contacts, we hope that the rescue teams will reach the site of the incident sooner and provide more information," he added.
IRNA reported that two passengers on the flight had communicated with rescue workers.
Twenty rescue teams, including drones and dogs, have been sent to the scene, and the Iranian military has also deployed troops to assist in the rescue effort, IRNA added.
The Fars News Agency posted what it claimed was video footage of rescue teams dispatched to the area of the helicopter's "hard landing."
Earlier in the day, the Iranian government's X account posted an image of Raisi seated next to Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, at the opening of a dam along the border between the two countries.
A post on Raisi's Instagram page asked supporters to pray for his health and that of his fellow passengers.
Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, said in a post on X: "We hope Almighty God will return the respected, esteemed President and his entourage to the arms of the nation." Khamenei added that the government would continue functioning amid the ongoing situation.
Raisi, a former cleric and judge, was elected president in 2021. He has been viewed as more of a hard-liner than his predecessor, former President Hassan Rouhani. Raisi pledged to honor Iran's nuclear deal with the U.S. despite former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the agreement in 2018.
Recently, Raisi celebrated Iran's attack on Israel following an airstrike in Damascus that killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran blamed Israel for the bombing, though Israel did not claim responsibility, stating it intercepted 99% of the missiles and drones during Iran's retaliatory strike.
In Iran's political system, the president is the head of the government, but the country is ultimately ruled by its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who sets national policies, supervises their implementation, and controls the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and police force.
According to Iran's constitution, if the president dies while in office, the first vice president takes over with the approval of the supreme leader, and a new election must be held within 50 days.
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