Iran’s final investigation into the helicopter crash that killed former President Ebrahim Raisi in May has concluded that bad weather was the cause. The crash occurred when the helicopter, carrying 63-year-old Raisi and his team, came down on a foggy mountainside in northern Iran. The crash resulted in the deaths of Raisi, his Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and six others, prompting snap elections.
The Supreme Board of the General Staff of the Armed Forces reported that the crash was mainly due to the “complex climatic and atmospheric conditions” in the region during spring. The thick fog that suddenly appeared caused the helicopter to collide with the mountain. The report found no evidence of sabotage or malfunction in the helicopter’s parts and systems.
Read More: Iranian Media Confirms President Ebrahim Raisi’s Death in Helicopter Crash
Earlier, Iran’s army had also reported that there was no criminal activity involved in the crash. However, the Fars news agency had previously suggested that the crash was caused by bad weather and the helicopter’s failure to ascend with two extra passengers, which violated security protocols. The Armed Forces General Staff’s communications center has dismissed the Fars report as “completely false.”
Ebrahim Raisi, who had been a hardline politician and was elected president in 2021, was considered a likely successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran.
