The 'Caricatured and Flawed' Narrative of the Helicopter 'Accident' by State TV; A Government Official: 'The Interest Was in the Martyrdom' of Raisi

Seven days after the helicopter crash that led to the death of Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in East Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic's state television released a 12-minute video titled 'Narrative of the Accident.' The report, aired on Channel One of state TV, stated that three helicopters departed towards the Tabriz refinery at 1:10 PM and approximately half an hour later, near the Sungun copper mine, the helicopters 'collided with a mass of clouds.' According to the claims made in this report, 'at this moment, the command of the helicopter carrying the President, as the field commander, was to gain altitude to pass through the cloud mass,' and 'about 30 seconds later, the pilot of another helicopter realizes that the main helicopter,' which Ebrahim Raisi was aboard, 'is missing and attempts to establish contact are futile.' Subsequently, two other helicopters landed in the vicinity of the Sungun copper mine at 2 PM and managed to 'contact the missing helicopter,' with 'Al-Hashim answering the call from pilot Mostafavi at 14:18,' and 'Mahrabian asking Al-Hashim: 'Are you okay? Where are the other passengers? Are they around you? Are you alone?' The report did not mention Al-Hashim's responses and stated that 'at that moment, a directive to track the mobile phone' was given, but since 'with one BTS, precise tracking was not possible,' 'the area of the villages of Ozi and Tavil was designated as the search area.' It was also emphasized that three hours after the helicopter went missing, 'after the last calls around 17:16, no one from the passengers answered the calls.' While state media promoted the 'documentary narrative of the accident' by releasing images claiming this report contained part of the call between Mohammad Ali Al-Hashim and Ali Akbar Mehrabian, the report aired videos of Ebrahim Raisi's conversation with Ilham Aliyev and also discussions with several local villagers. This narrative comes as state media referred to the incident as a 'hard landing' for hours after the crash, presenting contradictory statements about it. According to the claims made in this report, the point information identified by a Turkish drone was 'incorrect,' and 'after 14 hours of searching at 5:30 AM on Tuesday, Iranian drones pinpointed the crash site,' and the images 'show that the helicopter crashed between the villages of Ozi and Tavil, and all passengers' were killed. The state TV narrative also stated that 'the helicopter did not deviate from the designated route,' 'was in contact with the center until about a minute and a half before the incident, and there were no bullet marks on the helicopter,' and 'no suspicious activity was observed in communications with the control tower.' Meanwhile, the cause of the helicopter crash carrying Ebrahim Raisi remains unclear, and according to this report, 'a special committee of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is still investigating the details of the incident.' Simultaneously with the release of the 'narrative of the accident' from the Islamic Republic's television, Mehdi Davandeh, the governor of Nishapur, stated regarding the helicopter crash carrying Ebrahim Raisi that 'the interest was in his martyrdom.' According to the website 'Asr Iran,' this government official also quoted one of the 'elders of Nishapur,' who allegedly 'is in contact with the Imam of the Time,' saying that he 'saw the twelfth Imam of the Shiites, who was anxiously moving around during the crash of Raisi's helicopter, but ultimately said that we are not supposed to carry out our work with miracles.' The release of the state TV video report titled 'Documentary of the Accident' has sparked reactions on social media. For instance, Behnam Gholipour, a journalist, stated that this report 'contains new and important images of the helicopter wreckage,' asserting that this report 'confirms that the helicopter fell and did not collide with anything' and 'exposed Badrpash's claim that no one was answering the phone. Badrpash was a live witness to the conversation with Al-Hashim.' Additionally, the airing of this report has drawn criticism from some pro-government users. For example, Rashid Davoodi, a cleric from Qom seminary, stated on social media that 'if the truth is not narrated comprehensively and transparently, it will be fabricated,' adding that 'what was broadcast under the title of the documentary narrative of the accident' was 'merely a 'caricatured, selective, flawed' report that 'has dozens of documents opposing it' and 'the effort of the editor to absolve some of responsibility was clearly observable.' The helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic, disappeared a week ago on Sunday while returning from the inauguration ceremony of the 'Qiz Qalasi' dam in the northwestern border area of Iran. Although state media referred to this incident for hours as a 'hard landing,' the news of the helicopter crash and the death of all its passengers was announced early Tuesday morning. The announcement of Ebrahim Raisi's death brought public joy among Iranians inside and outside the country; a reaction that led the Islamic Republic officials to threaten and arrest citizens in Iran. Seven social media users in Fuman were arrested due to their reactions to Ebrahim Raisi's death, and affiliates of the Islamic Republic threatened protesters against holding ceremonies for Ebrahim Raisi in the US with death. The reaction of Prince Reza Pahlavi to the attack by supporters of the Islamic Republic on protesters in London: Patriotic people will not be intimidated. The news of Raisi's death and the dancing and joy of the plaintiffs: Justice will be served in 'people's court or the mountains of Varzeqan.' Reactions to the news of Raisi's death; from 'National Helicopter Festival' to dancing and distributing sweets in the streets.