Dozens of people are involved in the search, but bad weather is reported to be hampering their efforts. It happened in the far north of iran, near the city of tabriz, close to the border with azerbaijan. President raisi, seen here on the left, had been visiting a dam project. This is thought to be footage of him earlier in the day, travelling in a convoy of three helicopters. First reports that something had gone wrong were announced on state tv. Translation there are unconfirmed reports of an incident involving the helicopter carrying the president in thejolfa region. Initial reports cite a hard landing for the helicopter carrying the president. President raisi, considered a hardliner, is the second most powerfulfigure in iran and has been regarded as a possible successor to the Supreme Leader, ali khamenei. There is no word yet on any casualties today, but across iran, there have been prayers for the president s safety. That report from jon donnison. As we heard, president raisi was returning from a meeting with azerbaijans president , ilham aliyev, when reports of the crash emerged. The president has now reacted to the incident. He said that today, after bidding a friendly farewell to the 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. Our prayers to allah almighty are with president Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation. As a neighbour, friend, and brotherly country, the republic of azerbaijan stands ready to offer any assistance needed. We have also had other reaction from saudi arabia, also saying that they are following with great concern reports of the helicopter carrying the iranian president and they affirmed their support for iran, adding that saudi arabia is ready to provide any assistance needed by iranian authorities. Turkey has also responded. The Turkish Foreign minister saying it is monitoring the Helicopter Accident with sadness, action taken to support Search And Rescue operations has also been kick started. That is coming via the reuters news agency. Let me just take you to qatar. Also pledging their support and help. Again, via reuters. Qatar says it is ready to provide all forms of support to iran after the crash of the iranian president , president s helicopter, and that comes from the foreign ministry, that statement. In looking at the latest, i have two here for you. Russia has little issued a Brief Statement via reuters has issued. Russia is ready to extend help to iran in connection with a Helicopter Crash and with the Foreign Minister and president on board, that comes via the russian spokeswoman. And finally, the latest reaction coming from regional neighbours turkey. Recep Tayyip Erdogan says they are deeply saddened by the iran Helicopter Accident and they are in full coordination with iranian authorities. And earlier on within the past hour or so, iraq had also pledged their support and offers to help in the search for the helicopter. With me now is our news correspondent azadeh moshiri. You have been following the story from the start today. Where are we on what we do know, what details and perhaps even a timeline, lets just start there . Perhaps even a timeline, lets ust start there . Start there . Well, it is worth mentioning start there . Well, it is worth mentioning that start there . Well, it is worth mentioning that most start there . Well, it is worth mentioning that most of start there . Well, it is worth | mentioning that most of what start there . Well, it is worth mentioning that most of what we know is from Iranian State media. Because given the fact that this is iran, we dont have as much access as we would other places. And the details we have been getting since this afternoon uk time a few hours ago now, they have been sparse. We know that there was a convoy of three helicopters carrying president Ebrahim Raisi, as well as the Foreign Minister hossein amirabdollahian, as well as two other senior officials heading towards tabriz in the north west of iran. It was returning from azerbaijan. We then started receiving reports from Iranian State media at one of those helicopters had a rough landing. Now, we started to understand that something serious was at play when they started talking about the difficulty of locating this helicopter and not having received any update on the condition of Ebrahim Raisi nor the condition of Ebrahim Raisi nor the condition of Ebrahim Raisi nor the condition of anyone else, we didnt know whether there were any injuries and we dont know if there are any casualties either. And as that progressed, we started seeing these pictures of the Search And Rescue teams. These were being broadcast on state tv throughout. And you can see there was such thick fog. These were rough hillsides. In the area itself, we know it to be a forested and wooded area. We know it is mountainous. So it was understandable the Search And Rescue teams were saying how difficult it had to be. Especially because they then had to proceed on foot. You and i are sitting here when it is dark in iran. We have also been told by the red crescent, the iranian red crescent. Those are the conditions there. You can see them right there. You still have the thick fog, you can barely see the lights from the emergency services. And they have also said it is cold. So they openly said that this Rescue Operation was going to slow down. So at this moment, we dont know the condition of the president Ebrahim Raisi. It is also worth saying that the big message we got in the past hour was from the Supreme LeaderAyatollah Khamenei. It took hours before we heard from him. And his message was what we have been hearing, pray for Ebrahim Raisis health, but also not to worry, not to be anxious. Should any news, out. And part of that is because this is a difficult moment for iran any news go out. There have been historic protest, we saw in 2022, due the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic has been called into question domestically. The legitimacy. So given health of the president could be at risk of that is a message of continuity the Supreme Leader will be insisting on. I willjustjump in. We have news coming from the eu. They have said they have activated their Mapping Service to help iran. And that search for the Helicopter Crash. Iran is a heavily monitored state. Lets be frank about it. There are so many Spy Satellites around the region. I mean, surely they will start to find something. I know it is heavily forested and it is a unesco site. So in terms of mapping, i suppose ultimately, what it will come down to is the weather, isnt it . ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. , it . Yes, we do have an update from one of irans it . Yes, we do have an update from one of irans vice it . Yes, we do have an update from one of irans Vice President s it . Yes, we do have an update from one of irans Vice President s for one of irans Vice President s for executive affairs. They said on state tv that they have been able to understand the location of the accident. They have a radius of two kilometres. So we do know there is some update in terms of the site, the rescue and what they have been able to cover. They are not able to communicate with anyone. They did say they have made contact with two people involved in the accident. They said one was a passenger and the other a flight crew. But we dont have any information about Ebrahim Raisis condition. Just dont have any information about Ebrahim Raisis condition. Ebrahim raisis condition. Just to clari on Ebrahim Raisis condition. Just to clarify on the Ebrahim Raisis condition. Just to clarify on the contacts, Ebrahim Raisis condition. Just to clarify on the contacts, was Ebrahim Raisis condition. Just to clarify on the contacts, was thatl clarify on the contacts, was that before the supposedly hard lining or crash or after, do we have any detail . It crash or after, do we have any detail . , s , crash or after, do we have any detail . ,. , ,. , detail . It is a very good question because he detail . It is a very good question because he didnt detail . It is a very good question because he didnt say. Detail . It is a very good question because he didnt say. He detail . It is a very good question because he didnt say. He did detail . It is a very good question| because he didnt say. He did say contact was made. But we also do know that previously, state tv reported that one of those helicopters, the one carrying president Ebrahim Raisi, lost contact with the two other helicopters. Again, the details here are sparse. They are heavily controlled. What were learning as from state tv. And you can imagine that given the of this news, that information is going to be passed out very carefully by authorities the magnitude of this news. I do also want to put this into perspective. Of course this is Breaking News and of course rolling news inside the country and other countries as well. We are rolling got it right now on the bbc. But its important to understand irans power structure. Ebrahim its important to understand irans powerstructure. Ebrahim raisi its important to understand irans power structure. Ebrahim raisi is not the one calling the shots in iran, that is the Supreme Leader ayatollah ali khamenei, that is the way it works and thats why this message of continuity is being pushed out so strongly. You can typically have president s who dont get along to get along with the Supreme Leader, they still have to listen to him, but they dont necessarily agree. In this instance, what is significant is Ebrahim Raisi is seen as a protege of ali khamenei. He was mentored by him when hejoined the khamenei. He was mentored by him when he joined the judiciary before he came to power and he is seen as someone who could even be his successor. So of course, this would be a blow, but not necessarily a hard hit on the Islamic Republic. But he came to power with a pretty low turnout at elections. How is he regarded generally by iranians . What sort of administration has he lead . He is a bit of a hardliner, isnt he . ,. , he is a bit of a hardliner, isnt he . ,. , ,. , he is a bit of a hardliner, isnt he . ,. , ,. He . He is absolutely, he is an Ultra Conservative he . He is absolutely, he is an Ultra Conservative. And he . He is absolutely, he is an Ultra Conservative. And to he . He is absolutely, he is an Ultra Conservative. And to the he . He is absolutely, he is an Ultra Conservative. And to the point he . He is absolutely, he is an ultra. Conservative. And to the point about elections, it was a record low turnout. Not only that, it was quite a shift because the government and the clerical council, they barred several moderate candidates from running. Ebrahim raisi, this was his second time running. He previously lost. And this time clearly after years of mounting dissent in the country, the Supreme Leader and the establishment within the Islamic Republic, wanted more control. Parliamentary elections also took place recently. Those had very low turnout as well. Because it is iran and because of the fact it is a regime like this, that may not seem too shocking. But for iranians, it would be. The one thing that would happen within the Islamic Republic is they actually cared about the elections having a high turnout because they wanted to point that turn out to say, this is a legitimate republic. Of course, that is no longer the case and certainly after the crackdown that we have seen after these historic protests, protesters are still facing consequences in front of the judiciary. There are still Death Sentences coming in. This is not a free and fair state. Free and fair state. Parliament is also set to free and fair state. Parliament is also set to reopen free and fair state. Parliament is also set to reopen in free and fair state. Parliament is also set to reopen in a free and fair state. Parliament is also set to reopen in a few free and fair state. Parliament is also set to reopen in a few days | free and fair state. Parliament is l also set to reopen in a few days as well, so there is a lot that is going to take place over the next few days in iran which is going to hinge on what happens over the next few hours in this Northern Region of iran itself. I wonder if you could just explain the significance of mashhad and why the state encourage people to head their for their prayers . People to head their for their rra ers . ,. , people to head their for their rra ers . H, people to head their for their rra ers . Prayers . Mashhad is always called the holy city. Prayers . Mashhad is always called the holy city. It prayers . Mashhad is always called the holy city. It is prayers . Mashhad is always called the holy city, it is the prayers . Mashhad is always called the holy city, it is the second prayers . Mashhad is always called the holy city, it is the second busy| the holy city, it is the second busy biggest city in iran and it is also home to an important shrine. It is the countrys holiest shia muslim shrine mashhad. And it is also worth mentioning Ebrahim Raisi was born there. A lot of that also goes to some of the pictures we have been seeing on tenneco state media. It is a people praying, people are constantly being encouraged to pray. And this is something we also saw when another very important figure inside iran was killed. Of course, that was a major figure in the Islamic Revolutionary guard corps and when he was killed, we saw wall to wall coverage of people praying. It is the Islamic Republic. But it is everyone praying . We have seen the protest and dissent. Ha. But it is everyone praying . We have seen the protest and dissent. No. We will leave it seen the protest and dissent. No. We will leave it there seen the protest and dissent. No. We will leave it there now, seen the protest and dissent. No. We will leave it there now, thank seen the protest and dissent. No. We will leave it there now, thank you will leave it there now, thank you very much indeed. Just to remind you that the eu has said they are activating their Mapping Service. This could be significant. The eu has their own Space Programme so access to lots of satellites and Remote Sensing as well. Lets speak to Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and iranian journalist borzou daragahi. Welcome to the programme. I wonder as you have followed this story as it has unfolded today, what are the key factors and nuances you are beginning to list in your mind in terms of the repercussions of what could take place or what could be announced in the coming hours . Weill. Announced in the coming hours . Well, i would sa announced in the coming hours . Well, i would say that announced in the coming hours . In i would say that interestingly, it happens this way, the law, that the president will have far less of an impact actually than the loss potentially of the Foreign Minister amirabdollahian. Because the president really is basically in some ways a carbon copy of the Supreme Leader. There has never been any kind of distance between the Supreme Leader and a president on policy issues. He willjust be replaced with someone else. However, the Prime Minister has been involved in the nuclear issue, negotiating various regional issues including the saudi arabia and other gulf states. So there will be a bit of, it will take time and it will be a little bit unpredictable weather the next person who becomes the Foreign Minister will be able to get up to speed on time. flit minister will be able to get up to speed on time. Minister will be able to get up to speed on time. Of course, the likes ofthe speed on time. Of course, the likes of the united speed on time. Of course, the likes of the United States speed on time. Of course, th