Helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has crashed

A helicopter transporting Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi made a “hard landing” on Sunday, state TV reported.

The incident occurred while Raisi was en route to Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

State TV reported that rescue teams were dispatched to the site of the accident.

The helicopter “had an accident in the general area of Varzeghan” in East Azerbaijan province, state news agency IRNA said.

In addition to Raisi, the helicopter was carrying several other officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, according to IRNA.

Difficult weather conditions and heavy fog have hindered the efforts of the rescue teams, state TV said.