Tazeen Akhtar
The confirmation of the martyrdom of President of Iran , Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and their co-travelers in a helicopter crash has been finally issued by the concerned authorities than engulfed the world in grief and sorrow on the great loss of lives of visionary leader of the east and his team including the Foreign Minister. The helicopter was taking them back from the site of a Dam that was inaugurated by the President along with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.First Vice President, Mohammad Mokhber has assumed the responsibilities of the head of administration in Iran as Acting President.
Three crew members, the governor of Eastern Azerbaijan province, an imam as representative of the Spiritual Leader, Raisi’s head of security chief and a bodyguard were also onboard the helicopter.
In Pakistan, Ambassador , Reza Amiri Moghadam issued the statement on 20 May morning, “Utmost dejected & grievously dolorous I have to announce that President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi & FM Hussain Amirabdollahian, embraced Shahadat in consequence to a helicopter crash during a mission to Inaugurate a developmental project with a neighboring country.”
President Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, with state TV describing the area of the helicopter incident as being near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan. The president had been in Azerbaijan earlier on Sunday 19 May to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations have built on the Aras river.
It is a vast hilly area that was covered with fog at the time of crash.It had been raining around and the rescue teams could not trace the site of crash for many hours after the crash. The debris of the helicopter could be found only in the day light morning of 20 May.
Apparently it is accident and most of Iranian officials, experts and sources are seeing it in the same context but the safe return of two other helicopters in the convoy and crash of the President’s helicopter only give rise to suspicions that it is not an accident only.
President Biden of USA had declared many hours before the Irani officials confirmed that President Raisi died in the crash. He used the word assassination but Irani officials are careful in this regard so far.
The president of Azerbaijan had said after the crash that he was “seriously worried” after hearing about Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash. He added Azerbaijan was ready to provide any necessary support to Iran.
Irani President is Missing along with Foreign Minister after Helicopters Crash Landing
Drone footage of the helicopter wreckage taken by the Red Crescent and carried on Iranian state media showed the crash site on a steep, wooded hillside, with little remaining of the helicopter beyond a blue and white tail.
President Raisi visited Pakistan only one month ago while Foreign Minister Hossein visited Islamabad after the strikes of both countries into their regions in pursuit of terrorists. The visits of both were in connection with restoration of normalization and writing a new chapter of bilateral cooperation but both the constructors of new phase of understanding and above all other developments, the bilateral trade are not in this world now. Therefore it is great loss for Pakistan as well.
Iran has been continuously challenging Israel and especially after inhumane strikes of Israel in Gaza in last more than 7 months. Iran is the only country in the whole Muslim world that attacked Israel during the Genocide of Gazans by the Zionist state. Iran is the only Muslim country whose diplomatic mission was hit by Israel in Syria.
President Raisi’s helicopter crash will not be seen as accident in Iran as well as in the Muslim world. The investigation reports may reveal terrorism, international organized crime/ conspiracy by Israel or some other country that is know for her continued support to the illegal occupant state of the Middle East.
