Questions rise on Iranian late president’s chopper crash

Iran’s Jomhuri-e Eslami newspaper ran an article on Thursday, writing, “Out of the three helicopters returning from the border region to Tabriz, only the helicopter carrying the president faced the accident, which rules out the climate factors and strengthens the possibility of a plot.”

The daily also noted that the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has launched a probe into the incident whose results have not been released yet.

Ham-Mihan daily also wrote on Thursday the unresolved ambiguities and rumors as well as the delay in responding have caused confusion for people.

The helicopter carrying the president and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday at noon in a fog-shrouded mountainous area, but their charred bodies were recovered on Monday morning after over 18 hours of search and rescue operation.

Ham-Mihan wrote that the contradictory and even unlikely reports by officials on the cyberspace raise more questions on the incident.

“The head of the presidential office claimed that he talked several times with the pilot’s cell phone, which was answered by the late (Friday prayers leader of Tabriz Mohammad Ali) Al-e Hashem,” Ham-Mihan stated, concluding, “It means there was a signal and communication with the telecommunication towers, so the site of the crash could easily be spotted. But no explanation has been given as to why they could not find the wreckage within the six hours before it got dark.”