On Sunday, Iranian state media reported that a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi experienced a “hard landing.” 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. The incident occurred while Raisi was en route to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev earlier that day.
Despite existing tensions between the two nations due to incidents such as a gun attack on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran in 2023 and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic ties with Israel, Raisi had been in Azerbaijan to strengthen relations and promote economic cooperation between the two countries.
The visit took place amidst heightened tensions in the region, 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.
As rescuers faced challenges 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. One local government official described the incident as a “crash,” but further details about the situation were not immediately available.
