The details of the final moments of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric who took office in 2021 amid widespread protests, met an untimely demise in a mysterious helicopter crash on Tuesday, come to light.
Gholamhossein Esmaili, the head of the president's office and a passenger on the same airborne 3-helicopter convoy that carried Raisi, told the Iranian media outlet IRIB about what unfolded, perhaps shedding more light on why only the leader's aircraft went down. The details surrounding the crash remain shrouded in confusion, but the first-hand account from a passenger in the same helicopter convoy has shed light on the fateful day's events.
After departing for Tabriz following noon prayers, the presidential convoy took to the skies under clear weather conditions. However, as they approached the Sungun copper mine, a small yet ominous patch of clouds loomed ahead. The lead pilot, now dead, instructed the fleet to ascend above the cloud cover – a seemingly routine maneuver that would ultimately seal President Raisi's fate.
Video: Raisi's ring found at the helicopter crash site/credit: Arab social media
"After our noon prayers, we departed towards the direction of Tabriz. The weather was clear, there was no weather condition to be worried about," he told the channel according to a transcript provided online. "After half an hour of being in the air, prior to reaching the Sungun copper mine, there was a small patch of clouds," he continued.
The interviewer then asked, "So there was no fog?", to which he replied, "Not at all. There was fog on the ground, but not in up the air where we were advancing with the helicopters. However, in one small compacted area, there was a small patch of clouds above a cliff. In terms of height, this cloud was on the same height as our flight's height. We came above the clouds, we advanced for approximately 30 seconds."
His voice then trembled when he added, "Our pilot suddenly realized that the main helicopter carrying the president is missing," he told the channel.
In a desperate attempt to locate the missing aircraft, the convoy circled the area, but the cloud patch had vanished, leaving no trace of the president's whereabouts. Frantic efforts to establish radio contact were met with deafening silence, forcing the survivors to make an emergency landing at the copper mine.
The anguish was compounded when calls to the president's staff and companions went unanswered, until a lone voice emerged – that of Ayatollah Hashem, the Friday imam of Tabriz. In a chilling exchange, the imam revealed he was alone and disoriented, unable to account for the fate of the others.
President Raisi's tenure, marked by a hardline stance on nuclear negotiations and a brutal crackdown on dissidents, had deeply polarized the Iranian people and its relations with the global community.
In the wake of this tragedy, questions linger – was this a mere accident, or a sinister act that has robbed Iran of its controversial yet powerful figurehead?
