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

15:45-1 September 2024 AD ـ 27 Safar 1446 AH

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

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.

World

Japan Protests Chinese Naval Intrusion into Territorial Waters

This handout taken on August 31, 2024 and released on September 1 by Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff Office and received via Jiji Press, shows a Chinese naval survey vessel entering Japanese territorial waters off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)

08:27-1 September 2024 AD ـ 27 Safar 1446 AH

Japan Protests Chinese Naval Intrusion into Territorial Waters

Japan voiced "strong concern and protest" Saturday after a Chinese naval ship entered its territorial waters, days after Tokyo accused Beijing of sending a military aircraft into Japanese airspace.

A Chinese naval vessel was spotted entering Japanese territorial waters near the southern Kuchinoerabu island at around 6:00 am Saturday (2100 GMT Friday) and exiting southwest of Yakushima island nearly two hours later, the defense ministry said.

Following the incident, the foreign ministry "issued Japan's strong concern and protest" to China's embassy in Tokyo.

The ministry took "into account the past activities of Chinese naval vessels and others in the waters around Japan, and the recent intrusion into Japan´s territorial airspace by a Chinese military plane," it said late Saturday.

Japan on Monday scrambled fighter jets after a two-minute incursion by Chinese Y-9 surveillance aircraft off the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea, which Tokyo slammed as a "serious violation" of its sovereignty.

China's growing economic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and its assertiveness in territorial disputes -- most recently with the Philippines -- has rattled the United States and its allies.

Last week, Japan's defense ministry sought 8.5 trillion yen ($59 billion) for the next fiscal year, its largest ever initial budget request, as part of the country's five-year, 43 trillion yen defense buildup plan through March 2028.

The request includes funding for so-called standoff capabilities to strike distant targets with missiles and unmanned vehicles.

It is higher than the ministry's 7.7 trillion yen initial request last year, but smaller than the actual budget of 9.4 trillion yen approved for the current fiscal year.

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

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

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Japan Protests Chinese Naval Intrusion into Territorial Waters

Japan Protests Chinese Naval Intrusion into Territorial Waters

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