The helicopter carrying the president of Iran crashed

State television reported that the incident occurred near the town of Jholfa, on the border with Azerbaijan, about 600 km northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state television reported.

Raisi made a trip to the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan. The incident occurred near the city of Jholfa, on the border with Azerbaijan, approximately 600 km northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

According to state television, rescuers tried to reach the scene, but were hampered by bad weather conditions in the area. Heavy rain and wind were reported.

Raisi was in Azerbaijan on Sunday morning, where together with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, he solemnly opened the dam. This dam is the third that both countries have built on the Aras River.

Iran uses various types of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain spare parts for them. Its air force was largely formed before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.