and the authorities made little effort to interrupt ordinary life.
“He was a hard working president. His legacy will endure as long as we are alive,” said Mohammad Hossein Zarrabi, 28, a member of the volunteer Basij religious militia in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom.
But other Iranians showed little sorrow.
“Who cares. One hardliner dies, another takes over and our misery continues,” said Reza, 47, a shopkeeper in the central desert city of Yazd who did not give his full name, fearing reprisals. “We’re too busy with economic and social issues to worry about such news.”
Item 1 of 12 Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on the Azerbaijan-Iran border, May 19, 2024. Iran’s Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
[1/12]Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on the Azerbaijan-Iran border, May 19, 2024. Iran’s Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
State media reported that images from the site showed the U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash. The dead also included the governor of East Azerbaijan Province and a senior imam from Tabriz city.
Iran was a major buyer of Bell helicopters under the U.S.-backed Shah before the 1979 Islamic revolution, though the exact origin of the aircraft that crashed was not clear. Decades of sanctions have made it hard for Iran to obtain parts or upgrade its aircraft.
The helicopter went down in Varzeqan region north of Tabriz, as Raisi returned from an official visit to the border with Azerbaijan, in Iran’s northwest, to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint project.
