RIYADH: Saudi Arabia expressed its support for Iran and said it was ready to provide any assistance required after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed on Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry said the Kingdom was following reports about the crash with “great concern.”
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government said in a statement it had instructed its interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other relevant bodies to offer help to neighboring Iran in the search mission.
Iranian search and rescue teams were scouring a fog-shrouded mountainside after the helicopter carrying the president and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian went missing in an “accident” on Sunday, state media said.
Fears grew for Raisi after contact was lost with the helicopter carrying him in East Azerbaijan province, reports said.
Raisi was visiting the province where he inaugurated a dam project together with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, on the border between the two countries.
“Today, after bidding a friendly farewell to the (visiting) President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, we were profoundly troubled by the news of a helicopter carrying the top delegation crash-landing in Iran,” Aliyev said.
“Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation. As a neighbor, friend, and brotherly country, the Republic of Azerbaijan stands ready to offer any assistance needed,” he added.
Qatar said it is ready to provide “all forms of support” for Iran’s search efforts after the helicopter crash.
The UAE foreign ministry said in a statement that the country stands by Iran and is ready to provide support in efforts to find the helicopter carrying Raisi.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it was following developments in Sunday’s Iran helicopter accident with sadness and hoping for the president’s wellbeing, adding that action had been taken to provide all kinds of support to search and rescue activities.
The European Union said it had activated its “rapid response mapping service” to help Iran search for the helicopter.
Russia also said it is ready to extend help to Iran in connection with the crash.
“Russia is ready to extend all necessary help in the search for the missing helicopter and the investigation of the reasons for the incident,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
