Suren Papikyan expresses condolences to his Iranian counterpart over tragic death of Iranian president and his accompanying staff in helicopter crash
ArmInfo.Minister of Defence of the Republic of Armenia, Suren Papikyan, sent a message of condolence
to the Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics of Iran, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, in connection with the death of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, and his accompanying staff as a result of the helicopter crash.
As the press service of the RA MoD reports, the message reads as
follows: "I was deeply saddened to learn about the death of the
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, and their accompanying officials.
As a close and friendly country to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the
Republic of Armenia received the untimely tragic news of the deaths
of President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and their accompanying officials with
profound sadness.
We express our deepest condolences to the relatives and friends of
the victims and wish strength and steadfastness to the pious Iranian
people.
On behalf of the Ministry of Defence of Armenia and personally from
me, please accept our words of consolation and unwavering support."
On the afternoon of May 19, information spread that the Iranian
President's helicopter had crashed. The Iranian president was
returning from the northwestern Iranian province of East Azerbaijan
after the opening of a dam on the common border with Azerbaijan, in
the occupied territories of Artsakh.
The plane was found 30 kilometers from the village of Taval.
According to preliminary data, the helicopter lost control due to an
electronic failure and thick fog, fell onto a mountain and caught
fire. All the passengers of the Iranian presidential helicopter were
killed. President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hossein Amirabdollahian, Governor of East Azerbaijan Malek Rahmati ,
Imam of Tabriz Ayatollah Ale-Hashem (Seyyed Mohammad Ali Ale- Hashem
)were in the crashed helicopter.