A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog on the way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan, an Iranian official told Reuters.

The official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were “at risk following the helicopter crash”.

“We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The bad weather was complicating rescue efforts, the state news agency IRNA reported.

State TV stopped all its regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country and, in a corner of the screen, live coverage of rescue teams searching the mountainous area on foot in heavy fog.

Earlier, Iran’s interior minister confirmed one of the helicopters in president’s convoy had a rough landing. 

“Some unconfirmed reports say that the helicopter carrying President Raisi has had an accident in East Azerbaijan province,” state television said, adding that rescue efforts were underway.

“The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site,” state TV said in an on-screen news alert.

According to some local media, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and local officials were travelling in the same helicopter as Raisi.

Raisi was visiting East Azerbaijan province on Sunday where he inaugurated a dam project in the company of his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliev, on the border between the two countries.

Raisi, 63, has been president of the Islamic Republic since June 2021.

More to follow…