Iran launches probe into helicopter crash killing Raisi, senior officials

TEHRAN: Iran has launched an investigation into the helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahia and other top officials.
The Secretary General of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, established an investigative committee headed by Brigadier General Ali Abdullahi. The incident investigation report will be made public.
Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the runner crashed due to a “technical error”.
Raisi and other high officials returned after attending the opening of a dam on the border of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan on Sunday afternoon, flying through the mountainous terrain amid heavy fog in the Varzakan region of eastern Azerbaijan province. .
All passengers, including Raisi, were pronounced dead when the wreckage of the Bell 212 helicopter was found after a search in a stormy situation early Monday morning.
President Raisi’s funeral will be held in Tehran on Tuesday (today).
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran’s foreign policy and nuclear program, has declared five days of mourning.
Regarding the identification of the body, the head of the National Disaster Management Organization (NDMO) Dr Muhammad Hasan Nami said that it belongs to Raisi and therefore there is no need for a DNA test.
Nami said the body of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, the representative of East Azerbaijan, was found alive an hour after the crash.
Ali said he even called the president’s chief of staff after the accident and told him.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Interim President Mohammad Mohbar chaired a high-level meeting on the upcoming presidential election. Speaker and Chief Justice also attended the forum.
The meeting decided to hold presidential elections in Iran on June 28.
“The registration of presidential candidates will be held from May 30 to June 3, and the election campaign will take place from June 12 to June 27.”