Author : Rumana Reza
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Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/pm-modi-speaks-to-iranian-prez-ebrahim-raisi-on-bilateral-cooperation-chabahar-port-2652600 (Last accessed on May 23,2024)
As like as the picture above where a misinformation is provided (That person in the photo is Ex Iran President Hassan Rouhani, not Ebrahim Raisi), Raisi’s helicopter crash is also having so many confusing information. This kind of inconsistency making it foggier than the foggy weather of the incident, occurred on May 19, 2024 at around 13:30 local time in a remote, mountainous area about 58 km south of the Qiz-Qalasi Dam and 2km south-west of the village of Uzi, according to Iranian officials. More specifically, the crash site is in the Dizmar Forest, between Varzeghan and Jolfa in East Azerbaijan province, close to the border with the Azerbaijan Republic.
On the same day, President Raisi had a program to attend a ceremony to launch a road project in Armenia — a road leading from the Iranian border to Kajaran, a town in Armenia’s Syunik province. “The Armenian government on Monday did not deny or confirm reports that Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi cancelled at the last minute a visit to Armenia scheduled for Sunday, the day that he died in a helicopter crash.
“Information is officially given about confirmed visits of high-ranking officials to Armenia,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ani Badalian said in a short statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. She did not comment further.
According to citing an unnamed “source,” Russia’s leading state news agency, TASS, reported that “The visit was postponed at the last moment.”[1]”
Source: Latest photos of Iranian president before helicopter crash on border with Azerbaijan. / bne IntelliNews https://www.intellinews.com/iranian-official-reports-no-contact-with-president-raisi-s-helicopter-325897/ (last accessed on May 26, 2024)
It sounds so mysterious, that why had Raisi changed his mind at the last moment? Why had he decided to go by such an old Bell 212 helicopter to fly in a mountainous region in bad weather? Even though the US has severe allergies to him, how could he prefer to pick up a helicopter built in the US? Did not he have the self-respect?
Source: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visits the military equipment of IRGC Navy, in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Feb. 2. Copyright Iranian Presidency Office via AP
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-iran-wont-start-a-war-but-will-respond-to-bullies-president-ebrahim/ (last accessed on May 25,2024)
Questions to ‘the Answers’ by Nour News
Nour News, a news outlet linked to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)[2], justified choosing that helicopter by praising its engine quality. “The helicopter, which has a capacity of 14 people, flew with nine passengers for security reasons and to ensure safer flight conditions,”[3] it added. …. Is not that statement self-contradictory? If the authority can rely on that multipurpose helicopter and on those old engines’ power so that the chopper can continue flying with one engine if the other fails, then why did they keep nine passengers instead of 14 for safer flight conditions? Additionally, it also answered the critics’ question by ensuring that, as per one of the main and unavoidable protocols before any flight, the helicopter’s technical condition, health, and weather conditions along the flight path were checked.[4] If so, then why has the Turkish transport minister, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, told reporters that on hearing news of the crash, Turkish authorities had checked for a signal from the helicopter’s transponder that broadcasts height and location information , but most likely the transponder system was turned off or that the helicopter did not have one?[5] Then what kind of technical condition of the helicopter was checked? Aviation analyst Kyle Bailey told Al Jazeera the lack of communication from the helicopter pilot or another flight crew member likely means the crash was due to a “serious controllability issue”.[6] Point to be noted: according to reports published on bne INTELLINEWS on May 19 ,2024 state that “the helicopter in question was carrying the Iranian President. It has been identified as a Bell 214 helicopter.”[7]But later “State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter.”[8] Such shifting the name of the crashed helicopter’s model from Bell 214 to Bell 212 raises the suspicion that how careful were the authorities on President Raisi’s aviation protocol who did not have a proper idea of which helicopter was being used for the president?
According to Nour News, the helicopter accident was primarily caused by the unpredictable spring weather and cloud masses in a mountainous area, which could have caused turbulence and atmospheric instability. So, the question arises: if the flight crew were among the most skilled helicopter pilots in the country, with high military ranks, experience, and expertise (as claimed), then why did those pilots fail to tackle that weather whereas rest of the two choppers of the convoy landed safely? The media and authorities mentioned only the passengers of the destroyed helicopter, but there should be a clear and detailed report on the identities of the rest of the passengers who were onboard the other two helicopters. Besides, which models of helicopters were used for them? (If Mr. President rode on such a Vietnam War era’s helicopter, then they might be using the helicopters of WWI!) should also be mentioned.
Suspicious and Conflictual Information
There are still a lot of enigmas in the contradictory statements of the authorities on the crash of Raisi’s helicopter issue. Here are some examples:
Fars News, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), initially denied an incident involving three helicopters carrying President Raisi and his entourage, claiming an emergency landing due to heavy fog in East Azerbaijan. Later, it reported a "hard landing" on one of the helicopters, and then the rest is history!
Initially the official said, “Three helicopters left Tabriz but, half an hour later, two of them lost contact with the one carrying the president,” [9] But with time, speeches show different directions. Iran’s Deputy President for Executive Affairs, Mohsen Mansouri, told the state IRIB TV that one of the passengers and one of the crew members from the wrecked helicopter communicated with the rescue team. It means the air was not as severe as assumed earlier, he added. But “Hossein Hatami, the MP for Kaleybar, has said there has been no contact with anyone aboard the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter, which is currently unreachable, local agencies reported late on May 19. …. There is no information about all the passengers on the helicopter, and no mobile signal has been received from them. No contact has been made with anyone on board, and they are unreachable, including the protection team.”[10] So it means, no one from the wrecked helicopter was able to communicate with anyone until it was totally collapsed, but one was able to contact the rescue team after that helicopter turned into full debris! How strange! In addition, previously stating that the convoy of helicopters left Tabriz but later knowing that Raisi’s helicopter crashed before reaching Tabriz makes it clear that this incident is full of false information.
There is also a debate going on about who rescued the wreckage site first. “The Iranian Red Crescent Society announced early Monday that they had found the location of the wreckage of President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter after it was detected by a Turkish Akinci unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Speaking to local media, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said that two kilometers are left to reach the area where the wreckage is located.”[11] But later Iran officials, including Red Crescent head Pir-Hossein Kolivand and IRGC Commander Asghar Abbasgholi, claim Turkish drone's coordinates were incorrect and Iranian forces discovered the crash site. According to Iran Radio report, “five o'clock in the morning when the correct coordinates were finally found with Iranian equipment and Iranian relief forces.” On the other hand, in a video, a voice is heard stating that motorcyclists found the site first. Therefore, an article published on Iran International Newsroom gave credit to the local motorcyclists for playing a crucial role in locating the wreckage.[12] Mentionable: “Three rescue workers searching for the crashed helicopter were reported missing by the Red Crescent but were later accounted for.”[13] In such a hostile environment where Iranian forces and Red Crescent's rescue workers failed to locate the site first and were not able to smoothly continue the search operation for Raisi and his companions, those local motorcyclists dared to do it and had such strength! Their names and bios should be revealed to the world as an inspiration!
Source: Rescue team members works following at the scene. of a crash of the helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, May 20. via WANA https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405215698
Even there is a mismatched report on the condition of recovered bodies! “In an interview that appeared on social media, these locals described the wreckage as "completely exploded and everything was burned.”[14] Iran's Crisis Management Organization head Mohammad Hassan Nami stating that all passengers were burnt but still identifiable. On the other hand, IRGC Commander Asghar Abbasgholi stated that President Raisi's body was not burnt.
These kinds of contrasting statements create more doubt about whether it is an accident or a space assassination.
Overall Reactions
“Mohsen Sazegara, a former Iranian deputy prime minister and a founding member of IRGC, has since disclosed crucial information to Iran International. According to Sazegara's intelligence from his sources inside the IRGC, a series of events unfolded during the incident, further complicating matters. …Sazegara revealed that the standard protocol for such missions involves three helicopters: one called the leader in the front, another for high-ranking officials in the middle, and a third for support in the back. However, in a last-minute twist, the official's helicopter was swapped with the leader's, deviating from the established procedure”[15]This disclosure of information from a founding member of the IRGC is a sign of a lack of unity among IRGC members.
There was scope to grow an intimate relationship between Türkiye and Iran after the Turkish drone Akinci transmitted the image of the wrecked helicopter at 3:06 a.m. Iranian time and shared the coordinates with the Iranian authorities, but the passion for earning credits made it bitter… “Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, called foreign participation in the search a rumor.”[16] But “Iran's military said it had chosen Turkey among "friendly countries" to help in the rescue mission due to its proximity to the accident site in the northwest of the country.”[17]“Iran's Armed Forces said they were not able to immediately deploy their own advanced drones, equipped with synthetic-aperture radar, as they were located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean at the time.”[18] Later “according to Iranian media accounts, an Iranian drone belonging to the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps found the remains of the helicopter at around 5:30 a.m. local time.”[19] So, the question is, if the IRGC had their own drone, then why did Iran ask for Türkiye’s help? This indicates a gap exists between the IRGC and Iran’s military, where the Red Crescent Society is on the side of the IRGC. Anyway, “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Iran on May 22 to attend the funeral of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, who was recently killed in a helicopter crash.”[20] But later the Turkish government’s Directorate of Communications Center for Countering Disinformation dismissed these reports, stating that Erdogan has no plans to visit Iran in the near future. [21] President Erdogan, who visited the United States to attend boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s funeral in 2016, did not go to the neighboring country to attend the funeral of President Raisi. It seems like an icy relationship has been created between the two countries due to that wreckage discovery issue. Whatever, it was not the fault of President Raisi, so President Erdogan could skip this debate for the sake of the occasion and join there…
Critics and analysts of President Raisi’s helicopter crash are divided into three groups:
The first group focuses on the weather as the cause of the accident.
The second group is condemning the use of old-model helicopter.
The third group is assuming that it is sabotage or assassination.
Is It a Space Assassination?
Dr. Iain Boyd, director of the Center for National Security Initiatives in Colorado, states that a laser weapon capable of downing a helicopter from space does not exist, as it would be too large to conceal. A weapon larger than the International Space Station would be required to critically damage a vehicle flying close to the ground from space, he added.[22]
Well, Dr. Boyd has dismissed the possibility of laser attack from the space, but that doesn’t mean that the possibility of using low-power laser weapon, drone/UAV attack or ground-based laser attack etc. is nil. (To know about laser weapons, see: Applications of Laser Technology in the Army by Lyubomir Lazov*, Edmunds Teirumnieks, Risham Singh Ghalot, Faculty of Engineering, Rezekne Academy of Technologies, Atbrīvošanas Aleja 115, Rezekne, LV-4601, Latvia, published on Journal of Defense Management, May 2021)
Military
laser communication: illustration of spatial diversity. ( Source:
Applications of Laser Technology in the Army by Lyubomir Lazov*, Edmunds
Teirumnieks, Risham Singh Ghalot)
The area where president Raisi’s helicopter collapsed, was a hostile place for Raisi. Because, the incident happened close to Azerbijan border where “the visit came despite chilly relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on Azerbaijan's Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Azerbaijan's diplomatic relations with Israel, which Iran's Shia theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.”[23] In addition, the crash site is near to Tabriz, one of the places where many Iranian Baháʼís live. “Ali Rehyani Kucuvar, a well-known South Azerbaijani businessman and owner of the "Sonmez" factory, was arrested and transferred to Tabriz prison, along with several other relatives. According to his lawyer, the businessman was charged with "propaganda against the government" and "insulting Ebrahim Raisi.”[24] So, the think tanks or policy makers who often try to find out a link between Islamic terrorist groups and mishaps/violences, should not ignore this fact too.
Who Are Benefitted from the Death of Raisi?
If we analyze the news worldwide regarding Raisi’s chopper crash, we find that many media reports are softly trying to indicate that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the most benefitted person from the demise of President Raisi.“Analysts compared the lack of warmth in Khamenei’s tone while talking about Raisi as opposed to a similar situation in 2020 when he was filmed crying over the death of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Qasem Soleimani, who was killed on the order of then-US President Donald Trump.”[25]But those analysts might have forgotten to notice the differences between the two circumstances. When Khamenei gave his speech on Soleimani, he was confirmed that the major general is no more, and he was sure about the reason behind it. On the other hand, in the case of Raisi, he does not know (at least officially) what is actually going on.
Iran will not start a war but would “respond strongly” to anyone who tried to bully it, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Friday, a day after the U.S. said it was planning attacks on Iranian sites in Iraq and Syria. [26] This statement by then-Iran President Raisi shows the enmity between him and the U.S. Similarly, “Mr Abdollahian, 60, has been Iran’s foreign minister since 2021 and is known for his support of the Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the US.”[27] Therefore, we can keep the U.S. and Israel on the beneficiary list too!
No doubt, the happiest group for this vacuum in the cleric system is the supporters of Masha Amini, who died for “unsuitable attire (mentioned by Tehran’s morality police)”. Faezeh Hashemi, a former lawmaker and women’s rights advocate whose father, late Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was one of the founding fathers of the clerical establishment, was arrested on September 27, 2022 for supporting “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement in 2022.
Point to be noted, in 2016, she came under attack by hard-liners for meeting with a leader of Iran’s long-persecuted Baha’i community with whom she used to share a cell in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. [28] So definitely, it is a great opportunity for her to bloom her vision!
The oppression of women in Iran had been endured by the Baha’i community “for many many years”, Omid Djalili, a British-Iranian comedian who is a Baha’i, told The Telegraph…. Mrs Mahmoudi says her family had a “nice and easy life” before the 1979 revolution, which brought the clerical establishment into power….Since September 2022, when Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested for allegedly violating hijab rules and the subsequent nationwide protests, the Iranian government has ramped up its crackdown on the Baha’i community.[29] Therefore, Baha’i community is now on the front line as a gainer after the death of President Raisi.
Opponents celebrated Raisi's death as “good news”. On Persian social media, there were many jokes and sarcastic comments as well as photographs of protesters who were killed or maimed two years ago. There were also videos showing fireworks being set off in several locations in Iran's capital, Tehran.[30]
It is not a rocket science to understand who are benefitted from the tragic crash of this group of hard liners.
Mystery of Iran-U.S. Relation
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that the Iranian government asked Washington for assistance after the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials, but it was unable to provide it due to "logistical reasons”.[31]
On the other hand,
Uraloglu said Iranian authorities contacted them for help but did not initially
mention that the issue concerned Raisi.[32]
Despite the U.S. sanctions against Iran, how could the Iranian government seek
help from the U.S. by sharing the full story, whereas friendly Turkey was not
informed about the main reason?Why did not Iran ask Russia to help?
Though Iran and the U.S. are at daggers drawn, still using such U.S.-built helicopters sounds surprising. This aircraft, purchased by Iran in the early 2000s… The state-run IRNA news agency has confirmed these details.[33] How could this purchase be possible when, since 1979, the U.S. and Iran have been rough and tough on each other?
Why did not Iran buy helicopters from “Russia, now one of Iran’s closest allies”[34] ? Umm…After the death of President Raisi, Iran has purchased 15 helicopters from Russia[35], which could be a sarcastic answer to this question!
Iran and the U.S. had a secret talk in Muscat less than a week before Raisi’s death. Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden's senior Middle East adviser, held indirect negotiations with Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s point man for negotiations with the West (was a deputy foreign minister and now the acting foreign minister), according to three Iranian sources close to the talks. It is the same place which hosted secret meetings between Tehran and Washington a decade ago that led to the 2015 JCPOA (joint comprehensive plan of action) nuclear agreement.
One source close to the talks, which were first reported by Axios on Friday, told Middle East Eye that discussions between Bagheri Kani and McGurk were progressing well and were close to reaching some sort of agreement.[36]
Secret talks suddenly disclosed to the public creates an enigma. Are both countries trying to convince people that the U.S. has not ‘that bad’ intention for Iran or does the U.S. want to send a signal that the ‘arrogant attitude’ will not be tolerated? Or is there any third party who did not like this progressive relation between Iran and the U.S.? Whatever, at least now it is relatively clear that the U.S. has hate for the true hard liners like Ebrahim Raisi , Hossein Amir Abdollahian only, and not having phobia on other Iranians.
President Ebrahim Raisi (Presidential term: August 5, 2021–May 19, 2024) was not educated from Glasgow Caledonian University as like as former President Hassan Rouhani (Presidential term: August 3, 2013–August 3, 2021), but he had the courage to stay strict on what he believed. He had five years of clerical study, which was titled “poorly educated”[1] by his opponents. But his critics might forget that the education that teaches that the ape is the ancestor of the human is not mandatory to be a member of the judiciary or to be a successful leader. And history teaches us that the strictness of moral values in leadership often leads to political murder. President Ebrahim Raisi was surrounded by enemies both nationally and internationally. People who criticized Ebrahim Raisi for his role in the Masha Amini issue are now silent on the ‘anti hijabi’ role of the Tajikistan's government. The country has passed a law banning the hijab, the latest in a string of 35 wide-ranging religion-related acts, in a move described by the government as "protecting national cultural values" and "preventing superstition and extremism".[2] No humanitarians are giving lectures against this law or taking the side of those Muslims in Tajikistan who want to wear hijab! And interestingly, OIC, our Muslim world is still silent on this! Don’t forget my dear Muslim brothers and sisters what Allah Says:
Those who disbelieve are the friends and protectors of one another. If you do not act in this way there will be turmoil in the land and great corruption. (Al-Qur’an 8:73)
The crash of the President Raisi’s helicopter and its rescue process proves the actual capability of Iran. The country which can’t provide a good helicopter to its President, was seeking help from other countries to rescue, then how could it supply drones to others? How could their Uranium project be a threat to the world?
Just a few days before the presidential election in Iran, a sudden announcement from Canada that it has listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization[3] may incite fear among those who support the hardliners. The death of President Raisi has not only created a vacuum in Iran’s clerical system but has also brought an opportunity for the opponents’ parties, feminist groups, supporters of Masha Amini, the Baha'i community, and little relief for the US and Israel. Opponents have got the chance to pointing fingers at the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But if Khamenei had the intention of replacing his son in Raisi’s place, then he would never give that stair to Raisi.
Only Allah know what actually happened with the president and his companions, but such mismatched information, the president's sudden schedule change, the bodyguard's cliché appearance at the funeral, the safe landing of two helicopters, secret talks before the death of the president, a lack of unity in government agencies, etc. indicate the possibility of assassination rather than accident. If so, then the death of President Raisi and his entourages is the first space assassination in current history. In that case, for a safe future, scientists and policymakers should re-think about these laser technologies, space weapons, drone culture, etc. The fact is, if it really is related with the space science,then it could be a boomerang for the users of it. To get a bird’s-eye view of the whole earth, space science might be helpful, but if that science turns into assassinations, wars, the breaking of human privacy, global warming, environmental pollution, then it will be more horribly destructive. The effect of the war on the land surface is limited, but the space war covers the entire globe—easy vision, easy chaotic mission.
In the Al -Qur’an Allah Say, وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا
(Surah Al-A’raf , Ayat 56)
( Muhammad Habib Shakir: And do not make mischief in the earth after its reformation
Amatul Rahmân Omer: And do not create disorder in the land after the fair ordering thereof)
M.Pickthall: Work not confusion in the earth after the fair ordering (thereof).)
“'Salah' means the state of being good, correct, right, proper or set in order as in the translation. Then, Fasad refers to the state of evil, corruption, mischief,” confusion, “disorder. Imam Raghib al-Isfahan has said in his Mufradat al-Qur'an that Fasad refers to something going beyond the limits of moderation, whether this crossing over is insignificant or enormous, and the measure of an increase or decrease in every Fasad depends on this crossing of the limits of moderation. The farther the limits are crossed, Fasad will increase. Fasad means to make things bad and Islah means to correct, reform or put into order.” [4]
So, one of the most important messages from the death of the President Raisi we have got, that instead of being self-oriented only, it’s high time to think globally to save mankind. May technology not turns into Fasad!
[1] Raisi: The Poorly Educated Cleric Who Blundered Into Failed Presidency, published on 20 May,2024 https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405198930 (last accessed on June 28, 2024)
[2] https://www.euronews.com/2024/06/24/why-did-muslim-majority-tajikistan-ban-the-hijab ,published on 24 june,2024 (last accessed on 28 june,2024)
[3] https://www.timesofisrael.com/canada-puts-irans-revolutionary-guards-on-terror-blacklist/ published on 19 June,2024 (last accessed on 28 June,2024)
[4] https://quran-com.translate.goog/7:56/tafsirs/en-tafsir-maarif-ul-quran?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=bn&_x_tr_hl=bn&_x_tr_pto=rq&_x_tr_hist=true
[1] Yerevan Vague On Raisi’s ‘Canceled Trip To Armenia’, Ruzanna Stepanian, published on May 20,2024
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32955224.html (last accessed on May 25, 2024)
[2] https://www.tehrantimes.com/tag/nour+news (last accessed on May 25, 2024)
[3] Answers to several questions about Iranian president’s helicopter accident, News ID: 174322, published on May 22,2024
https://nournews.ir/en/news/174322/Answers-to-several-questions-about-Iranian-president%E2%80%99s-helicopter-accident (last accessed on May 25,2024)
[4] ibid
[5] The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/20/no-signal-from-helicopter-that-crashed-killing-irans-president-turkish-minister-says (last accessed on May 25, 2024)
[6]Who died alongside Iran’s President Raisi in the helicopter crash?
Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/20/who-died-alongside-irans-president-raisi-in-the-helicopter-crash (last accessed on May 26,2024)
[7] Iranian official reports no contact with President Raisi’s helicopter by bne Tehran bureau May 19, 2024
(last accessed on May 29, 2024)
[8]Helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi crashes, search under way by By Parisa Hafezi and Elwely Elwelly, published on May 20,2024, Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/helicopter-iranian-presidents-convoy-accident-says-strate-tv-2024-05-19/ (last accessed on May 29,2024)
[9] Akhtar Makoii, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi feared dead in helicopter crash, Published on May 20,2024 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/19/iranian-president-feared-dead-in-helicopter-crash/ (accessed on May 31,2024)
[10] ibid
[11] Iranian president, foreign minister confirmed dead in helicopter crash, Ahmed Asmar and Mohammad Sio,
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iranian-president-foreign-minister-confirmed-dead-in-helicopter-crash/3224369 published on May20, 2024 (last accessed on May 28,2024)
[12] Making Sense of Raisi’s Helicopter Crash: All You Need to Know by Niloufar Goudarzi, published on May 23,2024
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405224508 (last accessed on May 28,2024)
[13] https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/19/ebrahim-raisi-what-we-know-so-far-about-iranian-presidents-helicopter-crash (last accessed on May 28,2024)
[15] Ibid
[16] Turkey Claims Its Drone Was Instrumental In Finding Wreckage Of Iranian Helicopter by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, published on May 22, 2024 https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-iran-drone-raisi-search/32959633.html (accessed on May 31, 2024)
[17] Iran's Armed Forces downplay role of Turkish drone in finding President's crash site by Reuters, published on May 22,2024 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-armed-forces-downplay-role-turkish-drone-finding-presidents-crash-site-2024-05-22/ (accessed on May 31,2024)
[18]Ibid
[19] Op.cit. by RFE/RL's Radio Farda,
[20]Turkiye’s Erdogan to fly to Iran’s Mashhad for Raisi burial By bne Tehran bureau May 22, 2024
https://www.intellinews.com/turkiye-s-erdogan-to-fly-to-iran-s-mashhad-for-raisi-burial-326491/ (accessed on June1 ,2024)
[21] Iran or Turkey: Debate Rages Over Who Found Raisi Helicopter Wreckage by Niloufar Goudarzi, published on May 23 ,2024
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405237705 (accessed on June 1,2024)
[22] Fact check: Was Raisi's helicopter hit by a space laser? By Silja Thoms, Monir Ghaedi
https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-was-raisis-helicopter-hit-by-a-space-laser/a-69141493 ,22 May,2024 (last accessed on 27 june,2024)
[23] President Erdogan sends condolences over deaths of Iranian counterpart, FM
TRT AFRIKA ,20 May 2024
https://www.trtafrika.com/turkey/president-erdogan-sends-condolences-over-deaths-of-iranian-counterpart-fm-18164344 ( last accessed on 27 june,2024)
[24] https://gunaz.tv/en/post/106244 (last accessed on 28 June,2024)
[25] Goudarzi op.cit.
[26] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-iran-wont-start-a-war-but-will-respond-to-bullies-president-ebrahim/ (last accessed on 27 June,2024)
[27] Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi feared dead in helicopter crash by Akhtar Makoii
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/19/iranian-president-feared-dead-in-helicopter-crash/ (last accessed on 28 June,2024)
[28] https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-hashemi-arrested-amini-protests/32056172.html (last accessed on 27 June,2024)
[29] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/06/22/iran-academic-oppression-bahai-islamic-regime/ (last accessed on 27 June,2024)
[30] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1rrnppp5lno (last accessed on June 28,2024)
[31] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-says-iran-asked-for-assistance-after-raisis-helicopter-crash/3225285(last accessed on June 28,2024)
[32] Iran or Turkey: Debate Rages Over Who Found Raisi Helicopter Wreckage by Niloufar Goudarzi, published on May 23, 2024 https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405237705 (last accessed on June 28,2024)
[33] From Mossad assassination to space lasers: The top conspiracy theories around Raisi's death https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/ebrahim-raisi-death-israel-mossad-assassination-space-lasers-conspiracy-theories-13773138.html published on May 21,2024(last accessed on June 28,2024)
[34] Makoii op.cite.
[35] https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/iran-purchases-russian-helos-night-vision-capabilities (last accessed on June 28,2024)
[36] https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/secret-iran-us-talks-gaza-war-undermined-raisi-death ,published on May 21, 2024 (last accessed on June 28,2024)
[37] Raisi: The Poorly Educated Cleric Who Blundered Into Failed Presidency, published on 20 May,2024 https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405198930 (last accessed on June 28, 2024)
[38] https://www.timesofisrael.com/canada-puts-irans-revolutionary-guards-on-terror-blacklist/ published on 19 June,2024 (last accessed on 28 June,2024)
[39] https://www.euronews.com/2024/06/24/why-did-muslim-majority-tajikistan-ban-the-hijab ,published on 24 june,2024 (last accessed on 28 june,2024)
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