Iranian MP blames US, Israel, Azerbaijan for Raisi’s helicopter crash

An Iranian lawmaker has accused the United States, Israel, and Azerbaijan of orchestrating the helicopter crash that claimed the life of former President Ebrahim Raisi, rejecting the official explanation of a weather-related malfunction as implausible.

Kamran Ghazanfari, speaking at a conference on Thursday, said the Islamic Republic’s account was laughable and hinted at a deliberate assassination plot involving foreign powers.

“Everyone would laugh at the officials’ explanation that Raisi’s helicopter crashed due to weather conditions and dense clouds,” Ghazanfari added.

“What a smart dense cloud it must have been to specifically target the middle helicopter [out of three], which happened to be Raisi’s.”

Ghazanfari provided no evidence to support his accusation, which comes amid a turbulent political climate in Iran following its latest significant regional setbacks. The downfall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad in particular has rattled the Iranian government and its top leadership.

Ahmad Ardestani, a member of Parliament’s National Security Committee, previously speculated that Raisi’s death could be linked to the explosion of a pager he carried, referencing a string of coordinated blasts in September targeting Hezbollah communication devices in Lebanon and Syria.

The explosions, which left over 40 dead and caused numerous civilian casualties, were widely attributed to a sophisticated operation by Israel’s Mossad, though Israel officially denied involvement.

The US State Department also denied any connection to the helicopter crash, with spokesperson Matthew Miller confirming Tehran sought assistance in the crash aftermath but that logistical constraints prevented American involvement.

“We were asked for assistance by the Iranian government. We did make clear to them that we would offer assistance, as we would do in response to any request by a foreign government in this sort of situation,” Miller said in May.

“Ultimately, largely for logistical reasons, we were unable to provide that assistance.”

Leadership rivalries and theories of internal motive

Beyond accusations of foreign sabotage, some Iranians have speculated about internal political motives for Raisi’s death. Mehdi Nasiri, a former editor of the hardline Kayhan newspaper, pointed to potential rivalries surrounding Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s succession.

Nasiri suggested Raisi’s helicopter crash might have been orchestrated by those seeking to bolster Mojtaba Khamenei’s position as his father’s successor.

“In the last session of the previous Assembly of Experts, representatives spoke about Mojtaba Khamenei’s leadership, which was met with reactions from figures like Raisi and others,” Nasiri said.

He highlighted how Raisi’s death coincided with leadership changes within the Assembly, including the exclusion of key figures opposed to Mojtaba’s succession.

The death of Raisi, along with the assassination of figures such as Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, has fueled speculation about heightened foreign and domestic threats to Iranian leadership. Israel, while denying involvement in Raisi’s crash or other killings, has not shied away from targeting figures connected to Iran’s regional allies and nuclear program. An unnamed Israeli official told Reuters in May, “It wasn’t us.”

Despite these denials, figures like Ghazanfari continue to spotlight foreign interference as a likely cause of Raisi’s death, reflecting the tensions that define Iran’s complex relationships with its adversaries.