In the first comment of its kind since the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister, news agency "Mehr" published what it claimed was the last photo of Raisi from a distance, appearing alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shortly before their departure from the Iranian-Azerbaijan border. Meanwhile, the newspaper "Islamic Republic," which is the official newspaper of the Iranian government, stated: "Although initial reports on the day of the incident suggested that weather factors played a role, speculation gradually shifted towards conspiracy, to the extent that the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces was assigned a group to investigate the incident."
The newspaper "Entekhab" relayed the Iranian government’s statement, indicating, "Naturally, the report published by the investigation group from the General Staff of the Armed Forces in our country will be official and can be cited. At the same time, public opinion is closely following the story and wants to know the truth." It added, "In such a case, to prevent abuses by outsiders who usually take the opportunity to stir their own desires, local information sources should provide more information to the public, thereby closing the door on opportunists' violations."
**Is the Israeli Mossad Involved?**
The newspaper listed three points highlighting what it termed "the potential for conspiracy in the helicopter carrying President Raisi and his companions":
1. This incident occurred near our country's borders with the Republic of Azerbaijan, where the Zionist regime has deployed many intelligence, communication, and military facilities. The establishment of these facilities along the Azerbaijani border gives the Zionist regime the ability to execute any conspiracy in our border area. The fact that among the three Iranian helicopters returning from the border region to Tabriz, only the helicopter carrying the president experienced this incident, suggests how the connection of the incident to weather factors can be dismissed, strengthening the possibility of conspiracy.
2. Some technical experts indicated that the helicopter exploded first in the air before it fell. Under this assumption, the incident could be due to external interventions or issues within the helicopter, in either case, the situation is complex and can be investigated.
3. It has been suggested that the helicopter malfunctioned due to radar and navigation system failures and fell out of control. Under this assumption, there is a chance of conspiracy, and all these scenarios could be attributed to external factors.
Based on this analysis, the newspaper concluded:
1. This incident demonstrated that the trip planners for the president had a fundamental weakness and did not pay attention to many safety factors.
2. Our navigation system is weak, and if the crash of the helicopter carrying the president was due to conspiracy, this weakness also contributed to it.
3. We are very weak in the security sector in the face of external conspiracies.
**How Did Abdullahian End Up in Raisi’s Helicopter?**
An interesting aspect of the incident was how Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian ended up in Raisi's helicopter, despite protocol requiring him to be in a different helicopter. The Iranian press has not provided sufficient information on this matter yet, but journalist Ali Hashem from "Jadeh Iran" noted that Abdullahian himself requested to swap places with Minister of Roads Mehrdad Bazravas, boarding Raisi's helicopter "to discuss an important topic" with him.
In this context, Hashem wrote, "They shared the helicopter against protocol, then a single funeral. Perhaps if Abdullahian had remained in the helicopter he was in, and had not asked Minister of Roads Mehrdad Bazravas to take his place next to the President to discuss an important matter, the scene today would be different and less harsh."
