Iranian officials announced that Reisi and Foreign Minister Hussein Emir Abdullahiyan, who were on the helicopter, died in the accident. On the helicopter taking off from Azerbaijan, Iranian President Ibrahim Reisi, Foreign Minister Hussein Emir Abdullahiyan, Tabriz Friday Imam Ayatollah Ali Hashim and East Azerbaijan State Governor Malik Rahmeti were on board. The helicopter had an accident in the mountainous terrain in East Azerbaijan province. Upon Iran's request, Turkey sent Akıncı TİHA and a night vision-capable Cougar type helicopter for search operations. After starting its mission in the mountainous region, Akıncı TİHA detected a heat source that was thought to be the helicopter wreckage.
The coordinates of this region were sent to the Iranian authorities. The Iranian administration sent dozens of search teams to the region. The teams had difficulty reaching the helicopter wreckage due to difficult weather and geographical conditions.
Authorities found the helicopter wreckage completely burned. Iranian officials announced that Chief and Foreign Minister Abdullahiyan died in a helicopter crash. The chief and his accompanying delegation were returning from the dam opening they attended in Azerbaijan.
