Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian helicopters outperformed their American counterparts in the incident that led to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
The crash occurred on Sunday, 19 May 2024, when Raisi’s helicopter went down in dense fog and snow over mountainous terrain, killing him, his foreign minister, and six others.
The ill-fated helicopter was part of a convoy of three, returning from the inauguration of a joint dam project. Local media confirmed it was a Bell UH-1N Twin Huey, a utility military variant of the U.S.-made Bell 212, delivered to Iran by the U.S. before the 1979 revolution when Iran was a key U.S. defense partner during the Cold War.
The other two helicopters, carrying the accompanying members of the presidential delegation, lost contact with the president’s helicopter, which was positioned in the middle, as it stopped responding to radio calls. The lead helicopter, which had the transport minister on board, turned around and circled the area multiple times, but dense fog obstructed visibility, making it too risky to descend into the valley.
Speaking in Minsk alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin touted the quality of Russian hardware, saying the other two helicopters were Russian-made and flew the same route under the same adverse conditions without issue.
“By the way, the accompanying people flew on two Russian helicopters. Under the same conditions, on the same route, the Russian-made helicopters flew through without any issue,” Putin added.
Lukashenko went further, directly blaming Washington for the Iranian president’s death.
“As a person, not a president, I will say: the vile, disgusting position of the United States caused this. I mean, first of all, sanctions. These scoundrels did not have the right to impose sanctions against ships, airplanes, helicopters, and other craft that transport people. They are to blame,” he said.
Lukashenko then warned the U.S. that it would eventually be held accountable: “They won’t be able to hide behind the ocean.”
Iranian military investigators have so far found no evidence of foul play in the crash, which also claimed the lives of seven others.
According to state media, a preliminary report by the general staff of the armed forces indicated that the helicopter “caught fire after hitting an elevated area” and found no “bullet holes” on the wreckage.
The report also confirmed that Raisi’s helicopter had adhered to its “pre-planned route” and maintained proper communication with the control tower until a minute and a half before the crash. The wreckage was discovered in Iran’s mountainous northwest by drones on Monday, with difficult terrain, fog, and low temperatures complicating search and rescue operations.
