The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces announced that "the Turkish plane failed to accurately report the location of the crash of the late President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter." The General Staff stated in a statement that "after friendly countries announced their readiness to cooperate, the General Staff agreed to the proposal of the nearest country, which is Turkey. However, although Turkey sent a drone equipped with night vision cameras and thermal cameras to the area, this drone failed to accurately report the crash site due to a lack of detection and monitoring equipment under the clouds, and finally returned to Turkey."
It added: "Ultimately, in the early hours of Monday, the exact location of the helicopter crash was discovered by Iranian ground rescue forces and drones from the armed forces, which had been summoned from a mission in the northern Indian Ocean." The Iranian General Staff clarified: "The drones equipped with SAR radar are capable of detecting and monitoring points beneath thick clouds."
The communications center of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces expressed gratitude and appreciation for the efforts, cooperation, and sympathy of all countries, particularly Russia, China, and especially Turkey.
