Rescue workers in Iran continued their search on foot Sunday for the helicopter carrying nine people including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian after it went missing in mountainous terrain, state media reported.
A total of 65 rescue teams, including from the Iranian armed forces, had been deployed to East Azerbaijan Province in Iran's north-west, where the helicopter had been located.
The Iranian cabinet meanwhile convened for an emergency meeting chaired by Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber on Sunday evening, state news agency IRNA reported. According to protocol, Mokhber would assume power in the event of Raisi's death, pending approval from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Rescue workers continued the search on foot after dark in poor weather conditions. The remote, muddy route was inaccessible by road, forcing rescue teams to proceed on foot, according to local reports.
Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi also stated that rescue teams were facing significant challenges accessing the crash site due to adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain.
Nine people were on board the helicopter, including East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati. The Iranian government withheld details and warned against spreading unconfirmed information.
Raisi and Amirabdollahian were travelling back from a meeting with the president of neighbouring Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, when their aircraft disappeared from radar. Together they had inaugurated a dam.
According to Iranian media reports, the accident site is near Jolfa, more than 600 kilometres from Tehran close to the border with Azerbaijan.
Several countries including Russia and Turkey offered their help in the rescue operation, and a Turkish drone also flew into Iranian airspace to support the search operation.
Iran's air force is considered to be outdated and its modernization is making little progress in the face of tough international sanctions.
Many of Iran's aircraft date back to the time before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, when the country maintained close relations with the United States.
Raisi was sworn in as Iran's new president in August 2021. He won the presidential election in June with just under 62% of the vote as the leading candidate of the political hard-liners and the preferred candidate and protégé of Khamenei.
Born in 1960 in Mashhad, in north-east Iran, Raisi is considered to be very influential within the Islamic Republic's system. He also maintains a close relationship with Khamenei.
Raisi worked in the judiciary for over three decades and was appointed head of the judiciary in 2019. He is said to have been responsible for numerous arrests and executions of political dissidents in his previous role as public prosecutor.
According to the constitution, Raisi is only number two in the country as Khamenei is the actual head of state and also has the final say in all strategic matters.
Experts have tipped Raisi as a possible successor to Khamenei, who turned 85 in April.
Domestically, Raisi has been under pressure as young Iranians are increasingly criticizing the Islamic Republic.
Raisi's government has been criticized for years for its arch-conservative values, the suppression of civil rights and the severe economic crisis in Iran.
If Raisi and Amirabdollahian were to die in the incident, Iran would likely plunge into a domestic and foreign policy crisis.
Iran's foreign minister has been more in the public eye since the start of the Gaza war and has travelled extensively to visit allies.
According to protocol, Mokhber would replace Raisi as head of government in the event of his death. According to the constitution, new elections would then have to be held within 50 days.
The country's leadership would likely struggle to replace Raisi quickly due to a lack of alternatives.
Khamenei called on the nation to pray for the president. He hoped for Raisi's return, IRNA quoted the religious leader as saying. At the same time, he assured that the incident would not affect government business.
"The Iranian nation should not worry. There will be no disruption to the country's activities," IRNA quoted Khamenei as saying.