Bad weather added
Raisi’s helicopter is said to have crashed due to overloading
21.08.2024, 22:06
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Iranian investigators made a firm statement early on: the helicopter crash that killed President Raisi was not intentional. There were too many people on board, the authorities now say. In the meantime, the new president can put together his cabinet – not without criticism.
According to media reports, Iranian authorities have concluded that bad weather and overloading caused the fatal crash of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The Fars news agency reported, citing a source in the security authorities, that investigators are “absolutely certain that it was an accident.” The Iranian army had already stated in May that there was no evidence of a crime as the cause of the accident.
According to the Fars report, there were two more passengers on board than required by safety protocol. The helicopter was unable to gain altitude due to the overload. Investigators ruled out the possibility that “electronic systems were disrupted or hacked.” They also discovered “no evidence of chemicals or harmful substances.”
The presidential helicopter crashed on May 19 in northwestern Iran on its way to the city of Tabriz. All eight passengers, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were killed.
Peseschkian accommodates Parliament
Raisi’s successor is the reform-oriented Massoud Peseschkian. His cabinet has meanwhile been approved by the Iranian parliament. The MPs approved the appointment of all 19 ministerial posts in a session broadcast on state television. Peseschkian said he did not appoint some of his preferred candidates because of opposition from parliament. As foreign minister, he appointed 61-year-old Abbas Aragchi, a career diplomat who is committed to dialogue with the West.
Before the parliamentary vote, Peseschkian said he initially had “ideal” candidates for his cabinet “in mind”. “But when I saw that there was no agreement for this, I gave in.” For him, a consensual decision on the composition of the new government was more important than implementing his ideal.
The reform-oriented newspaper “Etemad” wrote that the parliamentary vote was the first time in 23 years that the Iranian parliament approved all ministers appointed by a president.
After the vote, Peseschkian published a photo of himself with the conservative parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf and the head of the Supreme Court of Iran, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejhei, on the online service X, which he commented on with the words “consensus for Iran”. Ghalibaf assured on X that the parliament was “standing by the government’s side to solve the country’s problems”.
A woman appointed for the second time
Peseschkian won the presidential election in Iran in July. The 69-year-old was seen as the only candidate from the reformist camp.
Although the new Foreign Minister Aragchi is known for his willingness to engage in dialogue with the West, he recently expressed his “comprehensive support for the Axis of Resistance,” in which Iran is linked to anti-Israel groups such as the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. In 2013, Argachi led the nuclear talks with the West. They finally resulted in a nuclear agreement in 2015, but this collapsed after the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
Peseschkian’s cabinet includes only one woman, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farsaneh Sadegh. She is only the second woman to hold a ministerial post since the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. The Ministry of Defense is now headed by General Azis Nasirsadeh, a former air force commander.
Other important items at a glance:
- Minister of Intelligence: Esmail Khatib, already in the post under the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, subject to sanctions by the USA.
- Minister of the Interior: Eskandar Momeni, Revolutionary Guard officer and former deputy head of law enforcement.
- Minister of Justice: Amin-Hussein Rahimi, already under the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi.
- Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance: Abbas Salehi, already held the office from 2017 to 2021 under the presidency of Hassan Ruhani.
- Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance: Abdolnasser Hemmati, former head of the Central Bank of Iran and 2021 presidential candidate.
Peseschkian attracted some criticism in the reform camp, among other things because he appointed conservative politicians from Raisi’s previous government. There was also criticism that the new president did not include representatives of ethnic and religious minorities and did not include more women in his cabinet.