During the search for President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter, Iran asked the US for urgent help. The Jerusalem Post reported that in response, the US sent a satellite image with the site of the crash.
However, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif blamed the US for the accident. "The US is responsible for the tragedy. It banned the sale of planes and parts to Iran despite the order of the International Court of Justice," he was quoted as saying.
While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, the experts claim it was the result of bad weather conditions. The Iranian government, however, is not in a hurry to rule out foul play.
As mentioned, the search for the helicopter took hours under stormy weather and heavy fog that did not allow for progress. Additionally, three of the rescuers went missing.
As morning dawned on the crash site and the fog cleared, a drone spotted what appeared to be the broken and burned remains of Raisi's helicopter. Because of the difficult terrain - mountains and forests, the chance that any of the nine passengers survived the crash and the harsh nocturnal weather with temperatures dropping to -15 degrees - became zero.
The final confirmation of the death of all the passengers of the plane was provided after a few hours.