“We cannot confirm any information related to the president and those who were with him, and the searches are continuing vigorously,” the official stated.

The helicopter experienced a "crash landing" in mountainous terrain as Raisi was traveling to Tabriz after visiting the Iran-Azerbaijan border, where he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to inaugurate a dam.

Rescue efforts continue as the situation develops although Iran called off the air search due to weather conditions such as fog in the mountainous, East Ajerbaijan region where the helicopter went down.