Hamas and Houthi speak out about helicopter crash carrying Iranian President

“In this painful incident, we express our full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, its leadership, government and people. At the same time, we pray to Almighty God to protect the Iranian President, his delegation and the brotherly Iranian people from any harm,” Hamas stressed.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Houthi forces in Yemen - Mr. Mohammed Abdulsalam stated: "We deeply regret what happened to the helicopter carrying the Iranian President in this tragic incident. Our hearts go out to the Iranian people in this crisis. We are closely monitoring with hope, waiting for the safe return of the Iranian President, the Iranian Foreign Minister and those accompanying them."

Iran's state news agency (IRNA) reported that a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in the country's north on May 19. According to some news agencies, the incident occurred near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan. The Iranian president traveled to Azerbaijan on May 19 to inaugurate a dam with his host counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

Rescue teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society, police, army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were dispatched to the scene.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry recently shared a statement with an update on the rescue efforts: “On the afternoon of May 19, a helicopter carrying the President, the Foreign Minister and some of their companions unfortunately crashed in the Varzaghan region of East Azerbaijan Province. Despite adverse weather and environmental conditions, rescue teams are working hard to reach the crash site with great hope.”

Governments from several countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have offered assistance to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The European Commission said it had activated satellite mapping to assist in the search.

Early on the morning of May 20 (Vietnam time), the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Mr. Pir-Hossein Koulivand, confirmed to local media that the rescue team had not yet determined the location of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that crashed.