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World Countries Offer Iran Support in Raisi Search, Israel Denies Involvement

The helicopter that was carrying Raisi after taking off from near the Iranian-Azerbaijani border today (AP)
The helicopter that was carrying Raisi after taking off from near the Iranian-Azerbaijani border today (AP)
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World Countries Offer Iran Support in Raisi Search, Israel Denies Involvement

The helicopter that was carrying Raisi after taking off from near the Iranian-Azerbaijani border today (AP)
The helicopter that was carrying Raisi after taking off from near the Iranian-Azerbaijani border today (AP)

A number of countries around the world on Sunday offered help with rescue efforts to locate Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, whose helicopter was reportedly involved in an accident.

Saudi Arabia in a statement by the Foreign Ministry affirmed that its stands by the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran in these difficult circumstances, stressing its readiness to provide any assistance that the Iranian agencies need.

In a statement on X, Qatar expressed its "deep concern" over the helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister and offered "to provide all forms of support in the search".

The Gulf state's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari gave "Qatar's wishes for the safety of the president, the foreign minister, and their companions", the statement added.

Also, the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement the country was prepared to offer all possible support in the search and rescue operations.

For its part, Kuwait said it was closely following with concern the reports regarding the helicopter accident and expressed its "support for the Islamic Republic of Iran in this critical situation."

Iranian search and rescue teams were scouring a fog-shrouded mountainside as Iranian state media said "an accident happened to the helicopter" transporting Raisi, a 63-year-old ultraconservative.

The Iraqi government said in a statement it had instructed its interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other relevant bodies to offer help to neighbouring Iran in the search mission.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he was "profoundly saddened" at news of the helicopter accident involving Raisi, and offered "all necessary support" to the search.

"We are following the incident closely, are in contact and in coordination with the Iranian authorities, and we are ready to provide all necessary support," Erdogan posted on X.

Also, a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman told AFP that Iran had requested technical support for its search.

"We are in the process of discussing the aid that could be sent over the fastest," he added. Tehran had also asked for technical support, said the spokesman.

The government's emergency aid agency AFAD said Türkiye had provided a helicopter equipped for night searches.

For its part, Russia is sending a team of rescuers to Iran to help search for the helicopter.

"At the request of the Iranian side, rescuers from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations will assist in the search and rescue operation," the ministry wrote in a statement published on Telegram.

The team, which "consists of 47 specialists with the necessary gear and equipment, all-terrain vehicles, as well as a BO-105 helicopter," will head to the northwest city of Tabriz, it said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia also offered help with rescue efforts.

The European commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, said the commission had activated its satellite mapping service to aid search efforts, following a request for assistance from Iran. The Copernicus Emergency Management Service provides mapping products based on satellite imagery.

Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 13 quoted official Israeli sources as saying that Israel had “no connection” to the helicopter crash.

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FBI Finds 150 Homemade Bombs at Virginia Home in One of Largest Such Seizures

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)
The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)
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FBI Finds 150 Homemade Bombs at Virginia Home in One of Largest Such Seizures

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)
The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)

Federal agents found one of the largest stockpiles of homemade explosives they have ever seized when they arrested a Virginia man on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.

Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched the home of Brad Spafford northwest of Norfolk in December, the prosecutors said in a motion filed Monday. The prosecutors wrote that this is believed to be "the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history."

Most of the bombs were found in a detached garage at the home in Isle of Wight County, along with tools and bomb-making materials including fuses and pieces of plastic pipe, according to court documents. The prosecutors also wrote: "Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured," in the home he shares with his wife and two young children.

Spafford, 36, was charged with possession of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act. Law enforcement officers allege he owned an unregistered short barrel rifle. Prosecutors said that he faces "numerous additional potential charges" related to the explosives.

Defense attorneys argued in a motion Tuesday that authorities haven't produced evidence that he was planning violence, also noting that he has no criminal record. Further, they question whether the explosive devices were usable because "professionally trained explosive technicians had to rig the devices to explode them."

"There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone and the contention that someone might be in danger because of their political views and comments is nonsensical," the defense lawyers wrote.

Messages were left Wednesday seeking further comment from the defense lawyers who signed the motion, Lawrence Woodward and Jerry Swartz.

The investigation began in 2023 when an informant told authorities that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and ammunition, according to court documents. The informant, a friend, told authorities Spafford had disfigured his hand in 2021 while working on homemade explosives. Prosecutors said he only has two fingers on his right hand.

The informant told authorities that Spafford was using pictures of the president, an apparent reference to President Joe Biden, for target practice and that "he believed political assassinations should be brought back," prosecutors wrote.

Numerous law enforcement officers and bomb technicians searched the property on Dec. 17. The agents located the rifle and the explosive devices, some of which had been hand-labeled as "lethal" and some of which were loaded into a wearable vest, court documents state. Technicians detonated most of the devices on site because they were deemed unsafe to transport, though several were kept for analysis.

At a hearing Tuesday, federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard determined that Spafford could be released into house arrest at his mother's home but agreed to keep him detained while the government files further arguments.

In response, prosecutors reiterated why they believe Spafford is dangerous, writing that "while he is not known to have engaged in any apparent violence, he has certainly expressed interest in the same, through his manufacture of pope bombs marked ‘lethal,’ his possession of riot gear and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and use of the pictures of the President for target practice."