A helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was caused by bad weatheraccording to an official report released on Sunday.
Raisi, 63, and seven others died when their helicopter went down in mountainous northwestern Iran on May 19. A well-known hardliner, Raisi had been seen as a possible successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian military investigators determined the crash was caused by “Complex climatic and atmospheric conditions in the region during spring,” Al-Jazeera reported. The report also blamed dense fog that suddenly appeared before the helicopter hit a mountain.
In May, the Iranian military said it found no signs of foul play, the official report said it was not sabotage and the helicopter had passed all safety tests.
The investigators also found the helicopter stuck on its planned path and did not deviate until the crash, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu Agency. The pilot did not send distress messages or distress signals before the crash.
Raisi’s death triggered a snap election, resulting in Masoud Pezeshkian takes office in July. Pezeshkian is seen more as a reformer, while Raisi was known for his unwavering commitment to Iran’s current political structure.
Raisi was was elected president in 2021 in a vote carefully managed by Khamenei to ensure his victory. Major opposition candidates were banned from running and Raisi won with 62% of the vote.
Earlier in life, Raisi also oversaw thousands of executions at the end of the vicious Iran-Iraq war. During his time as president, the Iranian military violently cracked down on protesters after Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022killed more than 500 people and injured 20,000 others.
With News Wire Services