Testimony of Iran's Chief of Presidential Staff regarding the Seconds of the Crash of President Raisi's Helicopter
Before the helicopter disappeared in the Varzaghan Mountains, pilot Raisi asked the pilots of two other helicopters to fly above the clouds.
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A photo from a video released by the Iranian Red Crescent organization on Monday (20/5/2024) shows the location of the helicopter crash that carried Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran.
After the Dhuhr prayer, around 1:00 PM local time on Sunday (May 19, 2024), three presidential helicopters from Iran departed from the Iran-Azerbaijan border area towards Tabriz. The destination was the Sungun copper mine.
They had just finished attending the inauguration of the Qiz-Qalasi Dam on the border of Iran and Azerbaijan. The construction of this dam is a collaborative project between the Governments of Iran and Azerbaijan. The inauguration was carried out by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Of the three helicopters, only two arrived at their destination. One helicopter, which was carrying President Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials was missing. Shortly afterwards, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced that President Raisi's helicopter had experienced a "hard landing".
After a procession that started on Tuesday (5/21/2024), from Tabriz, Qom, Tehran, Birjand, to Mashhad, Raisi's body was buried at the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, about 900 kilometers east of Tehran. Meanwhile, the body of Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian was buried on the same day at the Shrine of Shah Abdol-Azim in the city of Shahre Ray, about 25 kilometers south of Tehran.
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In the accident, last Sunday (19/5/2024), Iran's Chief of Presidential Staff, Gholamhossein Esmaili, boarded a helicopter which managed to reach Tabriz. In an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), Tuesday (21/5/2024), he recounted the moments when Raisi's helicopter disappeared. The Iranian news agency, IRNA, and the online news site The Cradle, May 22, 2024, published the contents Esmaili's interview.
Esmaili said that the weather conditions at that time were sunny. There is no information on weather conditions to worry about.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is in a helicopter in the Jolfa region, East Azerbaijan Province, Sunday (19/5/2024).
After flying for around 45 minutes, before entering the copper mine area of Sungun, a cluster of small clouds can be seen. There was no sign of fog at all. On land, there was indeed fog, but when the three helicopters of the Iranian presidential convoy flew, the sky was clear.
Helicopter pilot Raisi ordered
There is only one area above the cliff that is full of small clouds. After seeing the collection of clouds, the pilot of the main helicopter—the helicopter that President Raisi was riding in—ordered the pilots of the other two helicopters to fly above the clouds or avoid the cloud collection. The Esmaili helicopter was third behind the main helicopter.
"We kept going up into the clouds for about 30 seconds. Our pilot suddenly realized that the main helicopter carrying the President had gone missing," Esmaili recounted.
We continued to climb above the clouds for about 30 seconds. Our pilot suddenly realized the main helicopter carrying the president was missing.
During the process of ascending above the clouds, there is no turbulence felt unlike when boarding a plane. Passengers do not feel anything inside the helicopter. When reaching above the clouds, the sky is clear without any clouds.
Shortly thereafter, Esmaili said, the view below became clear. There were no clouds blocking the view. The helicopter carrying Esmaili's group arrived in the copper mining area.
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However, the pilot suddenly turned back. He said one of the helicopters was missing. They suspected that the main helicopter had made an emergency landing, but everything was unclear because radio communication was cut off.
The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took off from the border region of Iran and Azerbaijan after President Raisi, together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, inaugurated the Qiz Qalasi Dam in the border area of both countries.
Last communication
The last communication was done about 1 minute and 30 seconds after the fleet commander pilot in the president's helicopter ordered the other two pilots to climb above the clouds. The helicopter pilot carrying Esmaili then circled around the area where the president's helicopter went missing several times.
That is where the helicopter carrying the late Raisi is believed to have crashed - precisely in the area of Varzaqan. The ill-fated helicopter is suspected to have hit a cliff or mountain peak.
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However, the helicopter was not visible. The area is also too risky to enter because there are still small clouds gathering. Radio contact was repeatedly attempted, but failed. Finally, the two surviving helicopters were forced to land at the Sungun copper mine to investigate the issue.
During the flight, Esmaili tried to contact the main helicopter passengers, including the president's security guards, Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan, and the Friday Imam of Tabriz, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem. However, there was no response.
A photo from this video capture released by Iranian TV station IRINN on May 19, 2024 shows Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (right) riding in a helicopter in the Jolfa area of East Azerbaijan, northwest Iran.
After trying to call the bodyguard's cellphone and Captain Mostafavi, the president's helicopter pilot, several times, someone suddenly picked up the phone. Ayatollah Hashem answered and informed Esmaili that he was in pain.
“I asked what happened. He told us that he didn't know what happened," Esmaili said.
"When asked about his whereabouts and location, he also answered that he didn't know. He just described what he saw. He was surrounded by trees. I asked about the other conditions. Ayatollah responded that he was alone and couldn't see anyone else," continued Esmaili.
According to Ayatollah Ale-Hashem's account, his helicopter crashed into the valley. "The copper mine has good facilities, such as ambulances and necessary vehicles. We have formed a team to search for them. We also requested immediate emergency assistance," said Esmaili.
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Rescue teams found the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan, northwestern Iran, Monday (20/5/2024).
Honorable burial
On Thursday (23/5/2024), after processions in the cities of Tabriz, Qom, Tehran, and Birjand, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the birthplace of the late Raisi in Mashhad to bid farewell before his burial. Thousands of mourners brought white flowers, crowding the main streets of Mashhad, the city where Raisi was born.
"A slogan on a truck reads, 'I come to you, oh King, give me protection,' referring to Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam."
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Posters of Raisi, black flags, and Shia symbols are being displayed along the streets of Mashhad, especially around the final resting place of Raisi, the holy grave of Imam Reza. This shrine is visited by millions of pilgrims every year. Mashhad has long been known as a stronghold of Raisi's supporters.
Raisi is the first prominent Iranian politician to be buried in the holy site of Imam Reza. This is a great honor for the late Raisi. Raisi's father-in-law was also the Friday prayers Imam in that city.
The people of Iran crowded the complex of the holy shrine of Imam Reza in the city of Mashhad, Iran, on Thursday (23/5/2024) to bid farewell to the late President Ebrahim's body.
In 2016, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Raisi to run the Imam Reza charitable foundation, which manages business conglomerates and endowments in Iran, as well as overseeing the shrine. It is one of many bonyads, or charitable foundations, fueled by donations or assets confiscated after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
These foundations do not provide public reports on their expenditures and are only accountable to Iran's top leader. The Imam Reza charitable organization, known as "Astan-e Quds-e Razavi" in Farsi, is believed to be one of the largest in the country.
Analysts estimate that the value of assets owned by the foundation could reach tens of billions of US dollars as they own nearly half of the land in Mashhad.
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Previously, thousands of people also held pictures of Raisi and raised flags, lining the streets of Birjand, the capital of South Khorasan Province, to pay their final respects to Raisi's body. Raisi was the representative of South Khorasan in the Assembly of Experts, a body of clerics tasked with selecting or dismissing Iran's top leader.
Raisi was once rumored to replace Khamenei as Iran's Supreme Leader. Apart from Khamenei, Iranian officials and foreign officials also paid their respect to Raisi.
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (center), led the funeral prayer in front of the casket of President Ebrahim Raisi and several other officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in Tehran, Iran, on May 22nd, 2024.
Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, announced a five-day national mourning period. He has appointed Vice President Mokhber (68) as the interim president until the June 28th election.
The presidential election in Iran will be held on June 28, 2024. After a five-day national mourning period, the Iranian government will focus on organizing the new presidential election.
"How can I find someone like him? I'm really worried about it," said Mohsen (31), a local religious leader. "As far as I know, we don't have anyone as high as Raisi."
Raisi was elected as president in 2021, replacing the moderate Hassan Rouhani. Raisi comes from the ultraconservative group. His tenure was marked by a series of massive demonstrations, worsening economic crisis, and for the first time, Iran's attack on Israel in response to Israel's attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria. (REUTERS/AFP/AP)
