[Salon] President And FM Of Iran Killed in Apparent Helicopter Accident

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/05/president-and-fm-of-iran-killed-in-apparent helicopter-accident.html

President And FM Of Iran Killed in Apparent Helicopter Accident

May 20, 2024

You all will have heard by now that the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi as well as its Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have died in what looks like a helicopter accident:

Raisi was traveling in a US-made Bell 212. Low visibility and the impassibility of the area made search operations difficult, IRNA wrote.

Rescue teams finally managed to locate the crash site on Monday morning with the help of Turkish surveillance drones.

The wreckage was discovered in a wooded area on a mountain slope. The aircraft was severely damaged and charred, and there were no signs of survivors, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said.

Iran will have acquired the Bell 212 before the 1978-79 revolution. While at least 45 years old it had never had access to manufacturer level maintenance or regular replacement parts. It is likely that the helicopter was not equipped for pure instrument flights but required visibility to navigate.

The weather over the mountain range the helicopter was crossing was bad with video from the scene showing heavy fog.

Under such circumstances the flight should not have taken place. But with very important guests on board, who run on a tight schedule, the pilots may have felt a need to fly despite unfavorable weather condition.

I therefore see nothing that would suggest a conspiracy or foreign influence in the incident.

Raisi was on the conservative, and thereby more social, side of Iranian politics. Within the current framework in Iran his successor will likely by from the same political direction.

Iran's Supreme Leader has already announced new elections:

Khamenei.ir @khamenei_ir - 10:05 UTC · May 20, 2024

In accordance with Article 131 of the Constitution, Vice-President Mr. Mokhber will be the head of the Executive Branch & is obliged to cooperate with the heads of the Legislative & Judiciary Branches in facilitating the election of a new president within a maximum of 50 days.

There will be a bit of a rush to decide which personalities will be allowed as candidates for the next presidency.

Election campaigns in Iran are restricted to short periods. Voter turnout is usually low. While there might be surprises when a winner comes up the political system in Iran, established after the revolution, is quite stable and is likely to prevail.

Posted by b on May 20, 2024 at 11:05 UTC | Permalink