Iranian President, FM On Missing Helicopter

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were on board the helicopter that suffered a "hard landing" in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, says Iranian state media.

Adverse weather conditions, including heavy fog, are hampering rescue efforts and the helicopter is still missing. 

Everyone in Iran is anxiously waiting to hear about what has happened to Raisi and others in the crash, analyst Abas Aslani says.

"Nobody knows what exactly has happened and how the president and other local officials are doing, because the situation is quite complicated," he told Al Jazeera.

"As time goes on, hopes are decreasing because the conditions are getting much worse and it’s getting darker," Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, noted.

"What is being felt here in Tehran [Iran’s capital] is mostly that feeling of uncertainty."