On Sunday, Iranian state media reported that a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi experienced a “hard landing.” The incident occurred while Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan which is approximately 600 kilometers northwest of Tehran. Although one local government official described the incident as a “crash,” further details about the situation were not immediately available.
Rescuers were facing challenges in reaching the site of the incident due to poor weather conditions, including heavy rains, fog, and wind. It is unclear whether Raisi or any other passengers sustained injuries during the hard landing. The visit took place amidst strained relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, exacerbated by incidents such as a gun attack on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran in 2023 and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic ties with Israel, a country viewed as a major adversary by Iran.
The region is currently experiencing heightened tensions, with both Iran and Israel launching missiles into each other’s territories. Iran faces challenges in maintaining its military air fleet due to international sanctions limiting access to helicopter parts, most of which date back to the period before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Despite these challenges, Raisi had been in Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev earlier that day.
