Helicopter carrying Iran’s President makes rough landing; rescue teams yet to arrive

PTC News Desk: On Sunday, the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter made a “hard landing” near Jolfa.

According to Press TV, Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has verified that the president’s helicopter made a hard landing in Jolfa, East Azarbaijan, around 600 kilometers from Tehran.

This convoy consisted of three helicopters, two of which carried ministers and other officials, and all of them made it safely to their destination.

According to authorities, the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s rescue crews are having trouble getting to the scene of the tragedy due to poor weather, Press TV said. Additionally supporting the emergency operation are drone units.

The Associated Press stated that Raisi arrived in Azerbaijan early on May 19 to officially open a dam alongside President Ilham Aliyev. This is the third dam on the Aras River that the two countries have constructed.

The visit took place in spite of the tense relations between the two countries, which stem from a gun attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran in 2023 as well as Azerbaijan’s diplomatic ties with Israel, which the Shiite theocracy in Iran sees as its primary regional foe.