Death of Raisi, Abdollahian evokes echoes of mysterious helicopter crashes

The departure of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian from the political stage brings to mind other mysterious helicopter crashes, some of which remain unsolved to this day.

For 14 hours, the world's attention turned to East Azerbaijan Province in northeastern Iran, starting from the announcement of the helicopter carrying Raisi going missing over rugged terrain to the Iranians preparing for the possibility of their president's death, culminating in the official confirmation of their departure early Monday morning.

This shocking incident evokes memories of tragedies involving helicopter crashes that have claimed the lives of political and military figures in this region and around the world.

Similar incidents include the crash of John Garang's helicopter in 2005, shortly after he became the First Vice President of Sudan, and the mysterious death of former Iraqi Defense Minister Adnan Khairallah in 1989.

The fate of Abd al-Salam Arif in 1966, when his Soviet-made helicopter crashed under suspicious circumstances three years into his presidency in Iraq, and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987 during the Lebanese Civil War, further underscore the gravity of such incidents.

In addition to helicopter crashes, the world has also witnessed plane crashes claiming the lives of prominent leaders, such as the 2023 killing of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and former Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's death in 1988.

Similarly, the tragic deaths of Ecuadorian President Jaime Roldós Aguilera in 1981, Polish President Lech Kaczyński in 2010, Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski in 2004, and Mozambican President Samora Machel in 1986 in plane crashes raise questions about the circumstances surrounding their demise.

Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader, narrowly escaped death in 1992 when his plane made an emergency landing in the Libyan desert, highlighting the precarious nature of air travel for political figures.

These incidents serve as a stark reminder of the risks associated with political leadership and the mysteries that often shroud the deaths of prominent figures, leaving questions unanswered and speculation rampant.