A helicopter that was carrying the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi went missing on Sunday as it was traveling back from a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
The helicopter was also carrying Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and a handful of additional Iranian officials. The Iranian government reported that the aircraft went missing in a mountainous region of northwestern Iran that was experiencing heavy fog.
According to a report from the Times of Israel, the official Fars news agency has asked Iranian citizens to pray for Raisi’s safety. “Authorities have lost contact with the helicopter in which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was traveling, according to the Iranian Fars news agency,” the outlet reported.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated that authorities are still awaiting additional details from search and rescue teams, which have been hampered by the heavy fog.
Raisi was meeting with Azerbaijani president Aliyev for what was a notable meeting given Azerbaijan’s historical alliance with Israel, which has aided the nation despite its aggression against Armenia.
The helicopter was traveling through Iran’s East Azerbaijan province when contact was lost. Iranian state TV outlets have reported that a crash or “hard landing” is expected to have