This response came following the direct accusation made by senior Iranian official Mohammad Sadr towards Israel for the assassination of President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and several Iranian officials. They were aboard a helicopter that crashed in May 2024 in East Azerbaijan Province. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei stated that “the views and analyses of Mohammad Sadr, the veteran diplomat retired from the Foreign Ministry, are merely personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the country,” according to Iranian news agency Mehr.
Baghaei added that “the conclusions of the official authorities in the country regarding the helicopter crash were based on extensive technical research,” continuing, “Our basis for the causes and factors of the helicopter crash is the official report from the competent Iranian authorities, and other claims cannot be confirmed.”
In September, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces announced that “the final report on the incident involving the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and their companions indicates that it was not an act of sabotage.” The Iranian general staff stated, “Based on the forensic technical committee’s review report, no suspicion was announced,” emphasizing that “the helicopter’s parts and systems were inspected by an expert, revealing no signs of sabotage.”
The statement added that “the possibility of the helicopter being targeted by offensive, defensive, and electronic warfare systems, and the creation of magnetic fields and lasers were examined by an expert, who ruled out any involvement of the mentioned materials in the incident.” The Iranian general staff confirmed that “the main reason for the helicopter crash was the complex climatic and weather conditions of the region during the spring,” noting “the sudden appearance of a dense fog mass and the helicopter’s collision with a mountain.”
On May 19 of last year, President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and other officials were in the northwest region of the country in Varzeqan. On the morning of May 20, 2024, Iranian Vice President Mohsen Mansouri confirmed reports of the death of the President and his accompanying delegation. The delegation was returning by helicopter after a visit to Azerbaijan, where Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of the “Giz Galasi” hydropower complex and the operation of the “Khudaferin” hydropower complex on the border river Aras.
