TEHRAN, Iran – Foul play has been ruled out as the investigation into the downing of a helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian concludes.
The final report by the Iranian Armed Forces found no signs of sabotage or tampering, concluding the crash on 19 May this year was an accident, primarily caused by weather conditions, including thick fog.
The crash occurred after the president visited Azerbaijan. It took place on the Azerbaijan border, in northwestern Iran.
The severe weather conditions hampered search and rescue operations, resulting in it taking rescuers 12 hours to reach the crash scene.
The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces released its final report on Sunday.
The report said all records relating to the Bell 212 helicopter that took Raisi’s entourage down, were examined in fine detail, including the chopper’s maintenance history.
Both civilian and military experts took part in the investigation.
Initial speculation at the time of the crash pointed to Israel and the United States having played a part, however both denied any involvement.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported Israeli officials saying, “The message Israel is sending to the countries of the world is that Tel Aviv has nothing to do with the incident.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin too rebuffed speculation the United States was involved. “The United States had no part to play in that crash. That’s a fact, plain and simple,” he told a press conference soon after news of the crash had been made public.
“It could be a number of things, mechanical failure, pilot error, you name it,” he said.
“We continue to monitor the situation but we don’t have any insights into the cause of the accident,” Austin added.
The speculation Of Israeli or U.S. involvement followed a series of incidents in the month before the crash, beginning on 1 April 2024 when the Israel Air Force, in an unprovoked attack, bombed the Iranian consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. The bombing killed 16 people, including a woman and a senior Quds Force commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), seven other IRGC officers, and six militants.
Two weeks later, on 13 April 2024, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), launched retaliatory attacks against Israel using drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Israel claimed 99 percent of the drones and missiles were destroyed by a coalition headed by the United States, most before they entered Israeli airspace.
Despite starting the hostilities Israel retaliated six days later, on 19 April 2024 at 5:23am when the Israel Air Force carried out airstrikes on an air defense facility near Isfahan, in central Iran.
Barely a month later, the Iranian president, foreign minister and entourage, including the helicopter pilot and crew are killed in a crash, prompting the speculation of Israel and/or U.S. involvement.
Sunday’s report on the crash however said that detailed analysis of the flight path showed that the helicopter was on its predetermined flight plan and had not deviated from it during the course of the flight.
Remaining parts and systems from the crashed helicopter, including engines, power transmission systems, fuel systems, and electronic equipment, were thoroughly tested by experts from Iran’s Ministry of Defense and no defects were found that could have contributed to the crash, the report said.
Additionally, a forensic committee conducted toxicological and pathological tests on the remains of the victims and the results indicated no suspicious findings.
The investigation out the possibility of sabotage or the helicopter being targeted by offensive and defensive systems, cyber attacks, or magnetic fields and lasers, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
