Here's what to know about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, as search continues for his crashed helicopter
From CNN's Rosa Rahimi and the Editorial Research team
Born in 1960, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attended the seminary in Qom and earned a Ph.D in law from Shahid Motahari University.
He started his career as a prosecutor in the early 1980s, and rose from being prosecutor general of Tehran in 1994 to chief justice of the country by 2019.
His two years as Iran’s chief justice were marked by the intensified repression of dissent and human rights abuses,according to theCenter for Human Rights in Iran.
Raisi became president of Iran on June 19, 2021, after winning a historically uncompetitive presidential election. Many reform-minded Iranians had refused to take part in an election widely seen as a foregone conclusion. Overall voter turnout was only 48.8% – the lowest since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.
TheUS Department of the Treasury sanctionedRaisi in November 2019, citing his participation in the 1988 “death commission” as a prosecutor, and aUnited Nations reportindicating that Iran’s judiciary approved the execution of at least nine children between 2018 and 2019.
He is the first elected Iranian leader to be under U.S. sanctions.
In 2021, he was elected to the presidency in a contest heavily engineered by the Islamic Republic’s political elite so that he would run virtually unchallenged.His inauguration was seen to signal the start of a new, harder-line era that could herald major shifts in the Islamic Republic’s policies at home and abroad.
Raisi has long opposed engagement with the West, and is a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
Read more details about Raisi's life here.
Correction: This post has been updated to remove a reference to former President Hassan Rouhani running in the 2021 election.
President Ebrahim Raisi's Instagram urges Iranians to pray for him after helicopter crash
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi
The official Instagram account of President Ebrahim Raisi and state television urged Iranians Sunday to pray for the president and his entourage after the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in the country's East Azerbaijan Province.
"We call on fellow countrymen to pray for the wellbeing of the President and companions," a story shared on Raisi's Instagram said.
Raisi's condition is currently unknown, Iranian state news agency IRNA has reported.
Iran's health minister says crash site is difficult to access because of fog
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi and AnneClaire Stapleton
The site where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed Sunday is very foggy, making it difficult for rescuers to search, according to Iranian Minister of Health Bahram Eynollahi.
"We have set up treatment facilities. We are now in the area and all rescue forces are busy searching," Eynollahi said on state TV Sunday. "We have deployed all medical facilities, including emergency medicine, surgery and ambulance."
The Iranian military has been in the area of thecrash since it was first reported, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagherisaid.
"All the facilities, equipment and capacities of the army, the (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the police command are being used to provide relief and search for the helicopter of the president and his companions," Bagheri said.
The armed forces are also investigating the source of the crash, he said.
20 rescue teams and drones sent toIranian president helicopter crash site
From CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian, Nechirvan Mando, Rosa Rahimi and Eve Brennan
Twenty rescue teams and drones have been sent to the area where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed on Sunday, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.
The pair, along with a group of dignitaries, were aboard the helicopter returning from a ceremony for an opening of a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan when the aircraft “crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region on Sunday,” IRNA English reported.
“20 rescue teams and drones have been sent to the area, but due to the impassability of the area, its mountainous and forest conditions, as well as unfavorable weather conditions, especially heavy fog, the search and rescue operation will take time,” IRNA said.
IRNA also reported, citing locals, that the helicopter crashed in the Dizmar Forest area between the villages of Ozi and Pir Davood. Residents said they heard noises from the area, it added.
Iran’s interior minister Ahmad Vahidi said one of the helicopters in a convoy was forced to make a hard landing due to foggy weather conditions.
“Now different rescue groups are moving toward the area, but given that it is foggy and the unsuitable weather and the conditions, it may take some time until they reach where the helicopter is,” said Vahidi during a televised address posted on Telegram by IRNA.
He added that there had been some contact with the passengers on the helicopter, but did not have further details.
Helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashes, according to state news agency
From CNN's Eve Brennan
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed while visiting a northern region and his condition is currently unknown, Iranian state news agency IRNA reportedSunday.
The aircraft, which was also carrying Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, came down in the country's East Azerbaijan Province and emergency crews have so far been unable to reach it due to foggy conditions, IRNA said. It is unclear what the exact status is of Raisi’s helicopter.
“From the beginning of this incident being reported regarding the President’s helicopter, Red Crescent Relief Forces and auxiliary military and law enforcement forces have started a widespread effort to find this helicopter,” state news agency Tasnim reported.
The helicopter was part of a convoy of three helicopters. Two of those helicopters were carrying ministers and officials who arrived at their destination safely, according to Tasnim.
