Iran releases preliminary report on helicopter crash

TEHRAN

The Iranian authorities have shared a preliminary report on the helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi, citing that no suspicious findings have been identified.

Raisi, 63, died on May 19 alongside his foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, and six others after their helicopter went down in the country's mountainous northwest while returning from a dam inauguration on the border with Azerbaijan.

In the report released late on May 23, the General Staff of the Armed Forces stated that the helicopter did not deviate from its predetermined route and continued its course before the crash.

The pilot communicated with his counterparts of the other two helicopters one and a half minutes before the accident, the report said.

The document stated that no traces of external objects, such as bullets, were found on the wreckage of the helicopter, dismissing any claims of sabotage or assassination.

A fire broke out in the helicopter following the fall, the army said.

The rugged terrain, cold weather and foggy conditions prolonged the search and rescue efforts, with access to the crash site only possible by dawn — 15 hours after the accident, according to preliminary findings.

The report noted that no suspicious circumstances were encountered during the communications between the control tower and the flight crew.

The army further stated that the definitive results of the investigation would be shared upon the completion of the review, acknowledging that more time is needed to assess certain data.

Following the crash, a huge search and rescue operation was launched, involving help from Türkiye, Russia and the European Union. The coordinates of the helicopter wreckage identified by a Turkish drone were shared with Iranian authorities. Iranian teams reaching the designated location reported that there were no survivors from the crash.

Raisi laid to rest

 Raisi was laid to rest on Thursday, concluding days of funeral rites attended by throngs of mourners after his death in the helicopter crash, state media reported.

Hundreds of thousands marched in his home town Mashhad to bid farewell to Raisi ahead of his burial following processions in the cities of Tabriz, Qom, Tehran and Birjand.

Once the five days of public mourning, announced on Monday, have passed, the authorities including acting President Mohammad Mokhber will focus on organising an election for a new president set for June 28.

Men and women, who were mainly clad in black chadors and clutching white flowers, crowded the main boulevard of Mashhad, the Islamic republic's second city in the northeast where Raisi was born.

Raisi had widely been expected to succeed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led prayers in Tehran on Wednesday for the late president and knelt before the coffins of the eight people killed in the helicopter crash.

Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority in Iran, declared the five days of national mourning and assigned vice president Mokhber, 68, as caretaker president until the June 28 election.

A presidential election in Iran had not been expected until next year, and the crash has caused some uncertainty as to who will succeed Raisi, with some expressing concern about the upcoming president.

Raisi was elected president in 2021, succeeding the moderate Hassan Rouhani at a time when the economy was battered by U.S. sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear activities.

Raisi's time in office saw mass protests, a deepening economic crisis and unprecedented armed exchanges with arch-enemy Israel.

After his death, Russia and China sent their condolences, as did NATO, while the U.N. Security Council observed a minute's silence.

Messages of condolence also flooded in from Iran's allies around the region, including the Syrian government as well as Hamas and Hezbollah.