An investigation into the deadly helicopter crash is underway as of Monday, May 20, 2024.
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(Tehran) – On Sunday afternoon, local time, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was killed following a helicopter crash. Reports say he and eight others were aboard the aircraft when it crashed, in East Azerbaijan, a mountainous region that is one of Iran’s 31 provinces.
In Iran, the president is the nation’s second-highest ranked public official. The Supreme Leader is the top official. Now, an investigation will look into what may have caused the crash.
On Monday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin insisted the US military played no role in the incident. He reasserted the thought that the cause of the deadly crash must be properly investigated. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said earlier Monday that defense officials had told him there was no sign of “foul play” with Raisi’s death.
Of course this all comes amid heightened geopolitical tension across the entire Middle East. In April, Iran and Israel traded air strikes and drone strikes with little concrete result. Some have speculated that Iran could look to blame Israel for the crash — but nothing of that nature has come to pass yet.
