President Joe Biden has been briefed on the crashed helicopter transporting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other top Iranian officials, according to multiple reports.
Biden was briefed by aides on the crash, but a senior administration official told the Associated Press that officials have not learned much more about the crash than what is being reported by state media. The conditions of the passengers remain unknown.
The president’s briefing comes after conflicting reports that the helicopter, which went down in a rural mountainous area of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province amid heavy fog, rain, and cold weather, has been found.
Citing Iranian state media, Reuters reported that the helicopter transporting Raisi, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, Khamenei’s representative to East Azerbaijan, had been found. Shortly thereafter, Iran’s Red Crescent, which has numerous search teams working in the area, denied the report.
State media also reported that contact was made by some at least two persons on the flight, noting the crash may not be fatal.
“This was one of the hopeful points in this. This shows that the severity of the incident was not very high because two of the people who were on the flight contacted our people on several instances,” Mohsen Mansouri, Iranian deputy to the president for executive affairs, reportedly told state television, according to Al Jazeera.
Most recently, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps reported detecting signals from the mobile phone of a member of the flight crew.
Asghar Abbasgholizadeh, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Eastern Azerbaijan, reportedly said, “We are now moving toward the area with all military forces and I hope we can give good news to the people,” according to Tasnim News Agency, a semi-official news agency of the IRGC.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a public statement about the crash.
“We hope that Almighty God will return the esteemed President and his companions to the nation. Let everyone pray for the health of this serving group,” Khamenei said. “The Iranian people should not worry; no disruption will occur in the country’s affairs.”
Many regional leaders also offered sympathy and assistance to Iran.
Despite rising tensions between Pakistan and Iran, both Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered prayers and well wishes.
“My heartfelt prayers & good wishes for the well-being & safety of President Raisi so that he may continue to serve the Iranian nation,” Zardari said on X, with Sharif adding, “Waiting with great anxiety for good news that all is well. Our prayers and best wishes are with Hon. President Raisi and the entire Iranian nation.”
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered prayers, while Russia, Iraq, Turkey, and Armenia offered assistance in the search.
The European Commission also activated its Copernicus Emergency Management Service, which uses a satellite mapping system, to help in the search after a request from Iran’s government, according to European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič.
This is a developing story.