INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Hopes are fading that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister have survived a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and
icy weather, an Iranian official said on Monday after search teams located the wreckage, Reuters reported.&President Raisi&s helicopter was
completely burned in the crash … unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead,& the official told Reuters.Rescue teams fought blizzards
and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday.&We can see the
wreckage and the situation does not look good,& the head of Iran&s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV.Raisi, opens new tab,
63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on
anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers, read the report.A Turkish drone identified a source of heat
suspected to be the helicopter&s wreckage and had shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities, Anadolu news
agency said earlier on X.State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter.Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran&s nuclear programme, sought to reassure Iranians, saying
there would be no disruption to state affairs.The chief of staff of Iran&s army ordered all resources of the army and the elite
Revolutionary Guards to be put to use in search and rescue operations.Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming
to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country.In the early hours of Monday, it showed a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and
head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot in a blizzard, Reuters reported.&We are
thoroughly searching every inch of the general area of the crash,& state media quoted a regional army commander as saying
&The area has very cold, rainy, and foggy weather conditions
The rain is gradually turning into snow.&Several countries expressed concern and offered assistance in any rescue.The White House said U.S
President Joe Biden had been briefed on reports about the crash
China said it was deeply concerned
The European Union offered emergency satellite mapping technology.HARDLINER, POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR TO KHAMENEIThe crash comes at a time of
growing dissent within Iran over an array of political, social and economic crises
Iran&s clerical rulers face international pressure over Tehran&s disputed nuclear programme and its deepening military ties with Russia
during the war in Ukraine.Since Iran&s ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct
7, provoking Israel&s assault on Gaza, conflagrations involving Iran-aligned groups have erupted throughout the Middle East, read the
report.In Iran&s dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is Raisi&s 85-year-old mentor
Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, who holds decision-making power on all major policies.For years many have seen Raisi as a strong
contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi&s main policies.Raisi&s victory in a closely managed election in 2021 brought all
branches of power under the control of hardliners, after eight years when the presidency had been held by pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a
nuclear deal negotiated with powers including Washington.However, Raisi&s standing may have been dented by widespread protests against
clerical rule and a failure to turn around Iran&s economy, hamstrung by Western sanctions.Raisi had been at the Azerbaijani border on Sunday
to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint project
Azerbaijan&s President Ilham Aliyev, who said he had bid a &friendly farewell& to Raisi earlier in the day, offered assistance in the
rescue.The post Iranian President Raisi feared dead as helicopter wreckage found first appeared on Ariana News.
