Moving in the direction of the area but in view of the fog and Weather Conditions it will take time to get to the location of the helicopter. Things are under control in the rescue teams are doing their work. We hope it will be done as soon as possible. There is contact but considering it is the region contact is difficult. ,. ,. , is difficult. Rescue teams are waitin is difficult. Rescue teams are waiting to is difficult. Rescue teams are waiting to arrive is difficult. Rescue teams are waiting to arrive and is difficult. Rescue teams are waiting to arrive and send is difficult. Rescue teams are i waiting to arrive and send more information. The Reuters News Agency is quoting an unnamed iranian official saying that the lives of Ebrahim Raisi and the Foreign Minister are at risk but we just do not know at the moment the condition of the president and the Foreign Minister. State tv has been showing these pictures of people praying and one of the semi official News Agencies has urged iranians to pray and state tv has been showing a combination of those pictures we showed of the foggy conditions near the area and also these pictures of people praying. I want to bring in my colleague who has been monitoring state media. For those peoplejust joining, just update us on what we do know as to what has happened in iran. ~. ,. , do know as to what has happened in iran. ,. ,. , iran. According to state media three eole iran. According to state media three eo le that iran. According to state media three peeple that were iran. According to state media three people that were part iran. According to state media three people that were part of iran. According to state media three people that were part of this iran. According to state media three people that were part of this convoy j people that were part of this convoy that was carrying Ebrahim Raisi as he was travelling to the city of tabriz, one of them encountered difficulty and had a rough landing. There are conflicting reports about whether the president and his Foreign Minister were actually on this helicopter and state media has been showing the rescue pictures of teams trying to search for this helicopter amidst very difficult conditions. Fog, a wooded area, a mountainous area. These pictures we are looking up right now, people praying for his health, in fact our colleagues have reported that the president s own Instagram Page is asking its audience to pray for the president. There are also pictures we are seeing of people praying in the holy city and that city is also important for another reason which is that Ebrahim Raisi was born there. As you mentioned, this is being taken very seriously. Irans political system is different to many we are used to. While the president is particularly powerful, the Supreme LeaderAyatollah Khamenei is the one who calls the shots and while there has in the past been some division and some clashes between the president and the Supreme Leader, not these two. N the Supreme Leader, not these two. I want to show you the picture is now live that state tv are showing. This is a live broadcast from state tv and here you can see the rescue teams that have arrived. There are a number of cars and Emergency Vehicles but again you can just see the density of the fog. Report saying conditions are down to five metres. There is a line of ambulances and also the Iranian Red Crescent workers. And you can see from the footage this is a mountainous area. fie from the footage this is a mountainous area. � ,. ,. , ~ mountainous area. A Reporter Working for the semiofficial mountainous area. A Reporter Working for the semiofficial news mountainous area. A Reporter Working for the semiofficial news agency mountainous area. A Reporter Working for the semiofficial news agency in i for the semi official news agency in iran has been travelling with these emergency crews. He has been speaking to Iranian State media and talk about how difficult it has been to see through this thick smog. It is worth saying that in terms of president Ebrahim Raisi, state media has been showing the difficult Rescue Operation. Undoubtedly all the country is following this but that doesnt mean they all feel the same way about it. He is an extremely divisive character in iran, he came to power in 2021 in what were record low turnout rates, and sometimes it is easy to forget how important elections are to iran, but for officials it is important to them to have high turnout in the elections to justify the legitimacy of their government and president Ebrahim Raisi, he is someone who these rescue and search teams are looking for right now, he is someone who came to power amidst the low record turnout but having said that he is extremely close to the Supreme Leader. He is seen as the Supreme Leaders protege, not only that there is often discourse about he, if they can get by certain legislative rules, would be his successor, and while Ebrahim Raisi is about 63 years old, the Supreme Leader himself is much older and there have been a lot of rumours about whether this was already an Inflection Point in iran, a moment of instability where they would have to think about handover, and certainly they were not thinking about this. About the possibility that Ebrahim Raisi could have been involved in a tragic accident like this. ~. , involved in a tragic accident like this. E. ,. ,. , this. We are seeing lots of ambulances this. We are seeing lots of ambulances lined this. We are seeing lots of ambulances lined up. This. We are seeing lots of ambulances lined up. This| this. We are seeing lots of. Ambulances lined up. This is this. We are seeing lots of ambulances lined up. This is the live feed from Iranian State tv. They have been showing continuous coverage of this incident since news came in of this accident involving the iranian president. We can see dozens of vehicles in this mountainous area where this helicopter came down. As we have been saying there were three helicopters in this Convoy Carrying the iranian president from near the border with azerbaijan where he had been opening a dam. Two of those landed safely but one came down which state tv had called a hard landing. The rescuers now at that area but the condition is really poon area but the condition is really poor. There is fog and rain and visibility as you can see from the pictures on your screen, report saying down to around five metres so that means it is difficult to get the rescue teams there. As far as we know no contact made with the helicopter. I asked about why a helicopter. I asked about why a helicopter carrying the president might have been flying in conditions like this. ,. ,. ,. , like this. That is a question to ask. It like this. That is a question to ask it is like this. That is a question to ask. It is unclear. Like this. That is a question to ask. It is unclear. I like this. That is a question to ask. It is unclear. I am like this. That is a question to ask. It is unclear. I am sure. Like this. That is a question to i ask. It is unclear. I am sure that if the president was travelling like this that they thought it would be safe. Another question is, that is certainly complex and strange, is why you would have so many senior officials travelling together in this way. There are reports and we dont have these confirmed that the Foreign Minister who is involved in so many key foreign, diplomatic issues in the world. Of course there issues in the world. Of course there is this heightened time right now with the war in the middle east, that he would be travelling alongside lee president , and so of course that is something that is fair to ask. But when you look at this and the reaction we have been seeing on state media, across state television, people praying in various cities across the country, the president s own Instagram Page reportedly asking its audience to pray for the president , you know that it has a complex time right now inside iran given how divisive a figure he is. Before he was president , he isnt only thought of as someone close to the Supreme Leader who is central to the ran� s governing power, but he has also seen as someone who was the head of the judiciary before he came to power and thejudiciary, its role is extremely powerful in iran and it was part of the crackdown of protesters during those historic protests in 2022. And even before that he had continued to work with Security Services to crackdown on dissent and to prosecute many iranians, even those with dual nationality, on spying charges. And evenin nationality, on spying charges. And even in recent weeks, we have still seen protesters who have been charged with the Death Sentences, and while we maybe dont give those protests and some of the upheaval the same kind of coverage we used to, in iran it is still top of mind. Iwant to show to, in iran it is still top of mind. I want to show you pictures from one of the other Iranian State channels, and you can see they have got a four box and in one of those they are showing pictures from the scene but in the other three, we are seeing those people come out to pray around the country. So it does look like people have taken on board what the state tv and media said about praying for the president. Absolutely, and it is worth remembering, when another very big figure in iran was killed, the general who was a big figure in the Islamic Republic, chief of the Islamic Republic, chief of the Islamic Revolutionary guard corps, praying is at the heart of that reaction. This is the Islamic Republic of iran. The sheer regime is particularly important to project, this is a religious country so the Islamic Republic will want to of course have wall to wall coverage of course have wall to wall coverage of the country praying in unison for the health of the president , especially when right now the Islamic Republic as an institution, as a system, the ideology has been hit by so many protests and so much divisiveness and questions in terms of its legitimacy. When someone important to the regime, who is as close to the Supreme Leader as Ebrahim Raisi is, is thought to be in danger like this, you will see wall to wall coverage on state media of people praying. Does everyone feel that way . That is unclear, but it is a religious country and an islamic system so we will see those images. Islamic system so we will see those imaaes. ,. Islamic system so we will see those imaaes. , ,. , images. Stay with me because i want to brine in images. Stay with me because i want to bring in the images. Stay with me because i want to bring in the founder images. Stay with me because i want to bring in the founder and images. Stay with me because i want to bring in the founder and editor to bring in the founder and editor of a london based new site focusing on iran, iraq and other countries in the arabian peninsula. I want to get your initial reaction to the news we are getting out of iran about this Helicopter Accident involving the president. 50 Helicopter Accident involving the resident. , ~. ,. , president. So what we know so far is ve little. President. So what we know so far is very little we president. So what we know so far is very little. We know president. So what we know so far is very little. We know he president. So what we know so far is very little. We know he was very little. We know he was previously attending the inauguration on the border with azerbaijan. He was en route to the inauguration of the upgrading of a refinery in tabriz when one of the helicopters went down. So we are not seeing much other information coming out. What we do know and what was confirmed to me just a few minutes ago was that the Supreme NationalSecurity Council of the country, the top Decision Making body, has convened for an emergency session. That can mean many things, so i think it is best to refrain from speculation about the specific condition of the president but we know whatever happened is serious. That meeting a signal and also the fact we have been seeing such a rolling coverage on state media about how serious the situation is. Precisely. As your presenter and noted Ebrahim Raisi was elected with the lowest turnout in history. This doesnt mean he doesnt have any base, but given the nature he was elected and given his proximity to Ayatollah Khamenei, this is an important event in the countrys history. Iran is run at the top of the pyramid by the Supreme Leader, this means there will not be a discontinuity of government in the country in the event he has passed away. There are also constitutional provisions for what happens if the president passes away or is incapacitated. The Vice President will take over in such an event and the Vice President together with the chiefjustice and the Parliament Speaker will oversee elections in 50 days, so there are contingencies in place for that kind of scenario. We should of course keep repeating that we do not know at the moment the condition of the iranian president and the Foreign Minister. I wondered if you had any thoughts on the fact that it looks like both of those important people were travelling on the same helicopter. Are there any specific rules around people flying together in iran . Im specific rules around people flying together in iran . Together in iran . Im not privy to the details together in iran . Im not privy to the details of together in iran . Im not privy to the details of security together in iran . Im not privy to the details of security but together in iran . Im not privy to the details of security but i together in iran . Im not privy to the details of security but i do i the details of security but i do find it strange to top officials would be travelling in the same helicopter. There were several other current vessels Government Officials who attended and they were said to be in another helicopter so that would have made sense. Having said that, while Ebrahim Raisi was the president elected in the lowest turnout in history, his Foreign Minister has been far less effective and played far less of a role in democracy compared to his predecessor, who negotiated the iran nuclear deal. Indirect talks with the us right now is his deputy, so while the potential death of the president will not have a major impact on continuity, you could say the same about diplomacy. Haste impact on continuity, you could say the same about diplomacy. The same about diplomacy. We are seeine the the same about diplomacy. We are seeing the pictures the same about diplomacy. We are seeing the pictures state the same about diplomacy. We are seeing the Pictures State Tv the same about diplomacy. We are seeing the Pictures State Tv is seeing the Pictures State Tv is showing of people praying after this news broke. I am wondering whether we could look wider, outside of iran, and the impact this would have across the wider region, especially as we all know at the moment with the conflict in israel and gaza. Again i think iran is a political system is quite broad, there are a number of Decision Making bodies, top of which is the Supreme NationalSecurity Council which has just convened, so i think the continuity of Foreign Policy and government is unlikely to be impacted by the potential demise of the president or Foreign Minister. Haste potential demise of the president or Foreign Minister. Foreign minister. We have been showin Foreign Minister. We have been showing the Foreign Minister. We have been showing the pictures Foreign Minister. We have been showing the pictures of Foreign Minister. We have been showing the pictures of the Foreign Minister. We have beenj s