Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister are presumed dead after rescuers found "no survivors" at the site of the crashed helicopter that went down over a mountainous area in Iran on May 19, Iranian state media reported.
"President Raisi's helicopter was completely burned in the crash ... unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead," an anonymous Iranian official told Reuters.
Iranian state media said the helicopter made a "hard landing" near Tabriz in the northwest of the country. Rescue teams worked for over twelve hours amidst dense fog and freezing temperatures.
Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021 in "a landslide" victory in a vote described as "neither free nor fair" by Human Rights Watch.
Iran is one of Russia's closest allies on the international stage. The two countries have only deepened their military and political cooperation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Most notably, Iran has provided Russia with thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones used in airstrikes against Ukraine and has helped Moscow build a drone factory in Russia, as well as reportedly sending thousands of ballistic missiles.
Asami Terajima
