Helicopter of Iran’s Late President Raisi Crashed Due to Weather, Final Report Says

Rescue team works following a crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, May 20, 2024. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Rescue team works following a crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, May 20, 2024. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Helicopter of Iran’s Late President Raisi Crashed Due to Weather, Final Report Says

Rescue team works following a crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, May 20, 2024. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Rescue team works following a crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, May 20, 2024. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

The helicopter crash in which Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed was primarily caused by weather conditions that included thick fog, Iran's state TV said on Sunday, citing the final investigation report on the incident.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who was seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, died when his helicopter crashed in May in a mountainous region near the Azerbaijan border.

"The main reason of the helicopter crash was complicated weather conditions in the region," the final report concluded, according to Iran's state TV.

A thick mass of fog caused the helicopter that was carrying Raisi and his companions to crash into the mountain, the report issued by a high committee charged by Iran's military with investigating the incident said.

A preliminary report by Iran's military had said in May that no evidence of foul play or an attack had been found during the investigation.



Ukraine’s Top General Says Situation ‘Difficult’ around Main Russian Attack

 Ukrainian servicemen gather around a pickup truck in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, as they prepare to move into battle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, August 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukrainian servicemen gather around a pickup truck in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, as they prepare to move into battle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, August 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine’s Top General Says Situation ‘Difficult’ around Main Russian Attack

 Ukrainian servicemen gather around a pickup truck in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, as they prepare to move into battle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, August 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukrainian servicemen gather around a pickup truck in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, as they prepare to move into battle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, August 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Sunday the situation was "difficult" around Russia's main attack, which is focused in eastern Ukraine, but that all the necessary decisions were being taken.

Syrskyi did not give the exact location of the main Russian offensive, but earlier both he and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces were targeting the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.

"The situation is difficult in the direction of the enemy's main attack. But all the necessary decisions at all levels are being made without delay," Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app.

Syrskyi said last week he spent several days on the eastern front near Pokrovsk and described fighting there as "exceptionally tough".

Russia, which has captured swathes of eastern Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022, continues to inch forward there in heavy fighting.

The gains have continued since Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russia's west Kursk region on Aug. 6, apparently aimed at diverting Russian resources and strengthening Kyiv's position in any future negotiations.