Iranian state TV announces the death of President Raisi and his delegation in Chopper Crash Chopper

INA- Baghdad

 Iranian state television announced on Monday the death of the country's President Raisi and his accompanying delegation in a helicopter crash .

The helicopter carrying the president and his accompanying delegation suffered an accident on Sunday while returning from the khodavrin region to Tabriz amid bad weather conditions. 

Severe weather conditions made it difficult to determine the place where the accident occurred, so the work of rescue teams to reach the area was accompanied by many difficulties... 

Hopes of finding Raisi (63) alive were dwindling over time, in the absence of any information about the helicopter, which went missing on Sunday afternoon amid bad weather conditions.

In particular, the president, the foreign minister and two local officials of the far northwestern province of East Azerbaijan were on board the helicopter.

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on Iranians "not to worry" as the search operations continue. "The Iranian people should not worry, there will be no disruption in the work of the country," Khamenei said, adding, "We pray to allah to return our dear president and his comrades in full health to the arms of the nation.

State television said that" an accident occurred to the helicopter carrying the president " in the Julfa District of East Azerbaijan province". Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi told state television that the helicopter, a Bell 212, "carried out a difficult landing due to bad weather conditions,"
explaining that it was "difficult to make contact" with the plane.

State television broadcast images of a number of Iranian Red Crescent members walking through thick fog. The TV also broadcast images of worshippers praying for the president in several mosques, including one in the city of Mashhad (northeast), the birthplace of the Iranian President.