Iran's Foreign Minister and Others Were Initially Scheduled to Fly from Azerbaijan to Iran on a Second Helicopter

The helicopter transporting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, which crashed on May 19, was equipped with necessary navigation and emergency signaling devices. It was piloted by military pilots, not by those of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This claim was made by the Turkiye newspaper, citing sources in Iranian special services, as reported by TASS.

According to their information, last-minute changes were made to the list of passengers on the helicopter, which included Raisi. The list initially included Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others, who were supposed to fly from Azerbaijan to Iran on a second helicopter.

The helicopter itself was fitted with three types of tracking devices and had a special system that ensured uninterrupted signal transmission for 72 hours. Despite this, the site of the crash was not immediately located.

Tehran's sources, cited by Turkiye, also characterized the crash as an operation to eliminate Raisi, who was considered one of the most likely candidates to succeed Iran's 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is facing health issues.