A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on May 19, 2-24, while it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog.

NDTV citing news agency Reuters stated that the chopper carrying President Ebrahim Raisi was returning from a visit to the Azerbaijan border.

As per Iranian officials, the lives of the Iranian President and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were "at risk following the helicopter crash".

The officials, however, were still 'hopeful' even though the information from the crash site was very concerning.

As per reports from the Islamic Republic News Agency, the bad weather was complicating rescue efforts.

State TV stopped all its regular programming from showing prayers being held for Raisi across the country and, in a corner of the screen, live coverage of rescue teams searching the mountainous area on foot in heavy fog.

It may be mentioned here that the 63-year-old Ebrahim Raisi was elected president at the second attempt in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.

In Iran's dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is the supreme leader rather than the president who has the final say on all major policies.

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But many see President Raisi as a strong contender to succeed his 85-year-old mentor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has strongly endorsed Raisi's main policies.

Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi told state TV only that one of the helicopters in a group of three had come down hard, and that authorities were awaiting further details.