⚡️Iran's foreign minister was on board the helicopter along with the country's president, Tasnim news agency reported.

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🇮🇷 Iranian President Raisi was returning from a meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev at the border between the two countries, where the dam's opening ceremony took place.

Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev opened a new hydroelectric power station "Giz Galasi" on the Araz River.

The leaders commissioned two hydroelectric complexes to share the water and energy resources of the river.

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❗️The Iranian president's motorcade included three helicopters, one of which carried the energy and roads ministers, Tasnim news agency reported.

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The arrival of rescue teams at the site of the hard landing of the Iranian president's helicopter is still expected, there is no connection with Raisi, the Iranian interior minister said.

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People from the Iranian President's entourage contacted the command center, which gives hope that there were no deaths as a result of the accident, according to local media.

Two other helicopters from the Iranian president's motorcade safely reached their final destination.

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Rescue teams arrived at the site of the accident an hour after reports of the crash, IRNA writes.

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First footage of the rescue operation

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According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, the helicopter's passengers were:

▪️Iran's President Ibrahim Raisi
▪️Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahiyan
▪️Ayatollah Al-Hashemi, Imam of Tabriz Mosque
▪️Governor of East Azerbaijan Province Malik Rahmati

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The latest on Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash

A helicopter carrying Raisi suffered what Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirmed was a “hard landing" on Sunday.

▪️Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province

▪️The incident took place near the city of Jolfa, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital Tehran

▪️Three helicopters reportedly were in the convoy, and the two others made it back without problems

▪️Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of the Iranian supreme leader to the province, are believed to have been in the same helicopter as Raisi

▪️Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Housing and Transportation Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash were in the other helicopters that reportedly reached their destination safely

▪️Iran's interior minister said there was no communication with the president. However, some reports suggest that people accompanying Raisi in the helicopter managed to make an emergency call to say that the president is safe and sound.

▪️Emergency services arrived at the crash site, but are yet to report on their progress

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The reported crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi

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The Iranian news agency IRNA published the last photo with the president's helicopter taken after the opening of the dam

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The Iranian news agency Mehr News published a video of the president's flight one hour before the hard landing

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One of the search and rescue teams reached the site of the hard landing of Raisi’s helicopter, local media has reported, citing the head of the Iranian Red Crescent.

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The Russian Army broke through Ukrainian defenses in the Pologovsky area and advanced up to one and a half kilometers towards the city of Gulyaypole in the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Russian-appointed Zaporozhye regional administration, told Sputnik.

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Russia in world’s top-ten economies since start of century

The Russian economy has ranked tenth among the world's major economies when it comes to growth in US dollars since the beginning of the 21st century, a Sputnik analysis of data from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank has shown.

Russia's GDP has grown 7.7 times over the past 23 years, increasing to more than $2 trillion dollars from $260 billion at the end of the last century, according to the analysis.

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Russia has been successful in it's efforts to build “a sustainable economy” amid the ongoing special military operation. The newspaper also mentioned the futility of Western sanctions, which “have failed to collapse Russia’s economy.”

Ethiopia, which joined BRICS earlier this year, has grown the fastest since the beginning of the century: its economy has increased 19.4 times to $160 billion. Then comes China whose GDP has grown 14.6 times over to $17.7 trillion.

Japan, a member of the G7, is the only country that has shown a decrease in GDP in dollar terms since the beginning of the century. Its economy shrank by 15% to $4.2 trillion, compared to $5 trillion at the end of last century.

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The chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces announced the need to use all available forces of the army, armed forces and police to find the Raisi helicopter, according to the Iranian Fars news agency

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