can see the conditions are very poon can see the conditions are very poor, very foggy and there has been heavy rain. state media says the president was on board a helicopter that experienced what they described as a hard landing. it was also said to be carrying the foreign minister. the interior minister says rescuers are still trying to reach the site due to those difficult weather conditions. we should say the conditions. we should say the condition of those on board the helicopter remains unknown for now and the report says no contact has been made. the interior minister has been made. the interior minister has been speaking on state tv. let's have a listen to what the interior minister has said about this accident. translation: ., , translation: on the return “ourney the president — translation: on the return “ourney the president and i translation: on the return “ourney the president and others _ the president and others accompanying him were coming back on several helicopters. one was forced to make a rough landing due to bad weather conditions and fog in the area. various rescue teams are

moving in the direction of the area but in view of the fog and weather conditions it will take time to get to the location of the helicopter. things are under control in the rescue teams are doing their work. we hope it will be done as soon as possible. there is contact but considering it is the region contact is difficult. ,. ., , ., is difficult. rescue teams are waitin: is difficult. rescue teams are waiting to — is difficult. rescue teams are waiting to arrive _ is difficult. rescue teams are waiting to arrive and - is difficult. rescue teams are waiting to arrive and send - is difficult. rescue teams are i waiting to arrive and send more information. the reuters news agency is quoting an unnamed iranian official saying that the lives of ebrahim raisi and the foreign minister are at risk but we just do not know at the moment the condition of the president and the foreign minister. state tv has been showing these pictures of people praying and one of the semi—official news agencies has urged iranians to pray and state tv has been showing a combination of those pictures we

showed of the foggy conditions near the area and also these pictures of people praying. i want to bring in my colleague who has been monitoring state media. for those peoplejust joining, just update us on what we do know as to what has happened in iran. ~ . . ., ., do know as to what has happened in iran. ., , ., ., iran. according to state media three --eole iran. according to state media three eo - le that iran. according to state media three peeple that were — iran. according to state media three people that were part _ iran. according to state media three people that were part of _ iran. according to state media three people that were part of this - iran. according to state media three people that were part of this convoy j people that were part of this convoy that was carrying ebrahim raisi as he was travelling to the city of tabriz, one of them encountered difficulty and had a rough landing. there are conflicting reports about whether the president and his foreign minister were actually on this helicopter and state media has been showing the rescue pictures of teams trying to search for this helicopter amidst very difficult conditions. fog, a wooded area, a

mountainous area. these pictures we are looking up right now, people praying for his health, in fact our colleagues have reported that the president's own instagram page is asking its audience to pray for the president. there are also pictures we are seeing of people praying in the holy city and that city is also important for another reason which is that ebrahim raisi was born there. as you mentioned, this is being taken very seriously. iran's political system is different to many we are used to. while the president is particularly powerful, the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei is the one who calls the shots and while there has in the past been some division and some clashes between the president and

the supreme leader, not these two. n the supreme leader, not these two. i want to show you the picture is now live that state tv are showing. this is a live broadcast from state tv and here you can see the rescue teams that have arrived. there are a number of cars and emergency vehicles but again you can just see the density of the fog. report saying conditions are down to five metres. there is a line of ambulances and also the iranian red crescent workers. and you can see from the footage this is a mountainous area. fie from the footage this is a mountainous area. �* ,., ., ~ mountainous area. a reporter working for the semi-official— mountainous area. a reporter working for the semi-official news _ mountainous area. a reporter working for the semi-official news agency - mountainous area. a reporter working for the semi-official news agency in i for the semi—official news agency in iran has been travelling with these emergency crews. he has been speaking to iranian state media and talk about how difficult it has been to see through this thick smog. it

is worth saying that in terms of president ebrahim raisi, state media has been showing the difficult rescue operation. undoubtedly all the country is following this but that doesn't mean they all feel the same way about it. he is an extremely divisive character in iran, he came to power in 2021 in what were record low turnout rates, and sometimes it is easy to forget how important elections are to iran, but for officials it is important to them to have high turnout in the elections to justify the legitimacy of their government and president ebrahim raisi, he is someone who these rescue and search teams are looking for right now, he is someone who came to power amidst the low record turnout but having said that

he is extremely close to the supreme leader. he is seen as the supreme leader's protege, not only that there is often discourse about he, if they can get by certain legislative rules, would be his successor, and while ebrahim raisi is about 63 years old, the supreme leader himself is much older and there have been a lot of rumours about whether this was already an inflection point in iran, a moment of instability where they would have to think about handover, and certainly they were not thinking about this. about the possibility that ebrahim raisi could have been involved in a tragic accident like this. ~ ., , involved in a tragic accident like this. e ., , ., , ., this. we are seeing lots of ambulances _ this. we are seeing lots of ambulances lined - this. we are seeing lots of ambulances lined up. - this. we are seeing lots of ambulances lined up. this| this. we are seeing lots of. ambulances lined up. this is this. we are seeing lots of- ambulances lined up. this is the live feed from iranian state tv. they have been showing continuous coverage of this incident since news came in of this accident involving

the iranian president. we can see dozens of vehicles in this mountainous area where this helicopter came down. as we have been saying there were three helicopters in this convoy carrying the iranian president from near the border with azerbaijan where he had been opening a dam. two of those landed safely but one came down which state tv had called a hard landing. the rescuers now at that area but the condition is really poon area but the condition is really poor. there is fog and rain and visibility as you can see from the pictures on your screen, report saying down to around five metres so that means it is difficult to get the rescue teams there. as far as we know no contact made with the helicopter. i asked about why a helicopter. i asked about why a helicopter carrying the president might have been flying in conditions like this. ., , ., , ., ., like this. that is a question to ask. it like this. that is a question to ask- it is _ like this. that is a question to ask. it is unclear. _ like this. that is a question to ask. it is unclear. i— like this. that is a question to ask. it is unclear. i am -

like this. that is a question to ask. it is unclear. i am sure . like this. that is a question to i ask. it is unclear. i am sure that if the president was travelling like this that they thought it would be safe. another question is, that is certainly complex and strange, is why you would have so many senior officials travelling together in this way. there are reports and we don't have these confirmed that the foreign minister who is involved in so many key foreign, diplomatic issues in the world. of course there issues in the world. of course there is this heightened time right now with the war in the middle east, that he would be travelling alongside lee president, and so of course that is something that is fair to ask. but when you look at this and the reaction we have been seeing on state media, across state television, people praying in various cities across the country, the president's own instagram page reportedly asking its audience to pray for the president, you know that it has a complex time right now

inside iran given how divisive a figure he is. before he was president, he isn't only thought of as someone close to the supreme leader who is central to the ran�*s governing power, but he has also seen as someone who was the head of the judiciary before he came to power and thejudiciary, its role is extremely powerful in iran and it was part of the crackdown of protesters during those historic protests in 2022. and even before that he had continued to work with security services to crackdown on dissent and to prosecute many iranians, even those with dual nationality, on spying charges. and evenin nationality, on spying charges. and even in recent weeks, we have still seen protesters who have been charged with the death sentences, and while we maybe don't give those

protests and some of the upheaval the same kind of coverage we used to, in iran it is still top of mind. iwant to show to, in iran it is still top of mind. i want to show you pictures from one of the other iranian state channels, and you can see they have got a four box and in one of those they are showing pictures from the scene but in the other three, we are seeing those people come out to pray around the country. so it does look like people have taken on board what the state tv and media said about praying for the president. absolutely, and it is worth remembering, when another very big figure in iran was killed, the general who was a big figure in the islamic republic, chief of the islamic republic, chief of the islamic revolutionary guard corps, praying is at the heart of that reaction. this is the islamic

republic of iran. the sheer regime is particularly important to project, this is a religious country so the islamic republic will want to of course have wall—to—wall coverage of course have wall—to—wall coverage of the country praying in unison for the health of the president, especially when right now the islamic republic as an institution, as a system, the ideology has been hit by so many protests and so much divisiveness and questions in terms of its legitimacy. when someone important to the regime, who is as close to the supreme leader as ebrahim raisi is, is thought to be in danger like this, you will see wall—to—wall coverage on state media of people praying. does everyone feel that way? that is unclear, but it is a religious country and an

islamic system so we will see those images. islamic system so we will see those imaaes. ,, ._ islamic system so we will see those imaaes. ,, , , ., images. stay with me because i want to brine in images. stay with me because i want to bring in the _ images. stay with me because i want to bring in the founder— images. stay with me because i want to bring in the founder and _ images. stay with me because i want to bring in the founder and editor- to bring in the founder and editor of a london based new site focusing on iran, iraq and other countries in the arabian peninsula. i want to get your initial reaction to the news we are getting out of iran about this helicopter accident involving the president. 50 helicopter accident involving the resident. ., ~ ., ., , president. so what we know so far is ve little. president. so what we know so far is very little- we _ president. so what we know so far is very little. we know _ president. so what we know so far is very little. we know he _ president. so what we know so far is very little. we know he was - very little. we know he was previously attending the inauguration on the border with azerbaijan. he was en route to the inauguration of the upgrading of a refinery in tabriz when one of the helicopters went down. so we are not seeing much other information coming out. what we do know and what was confirmed to me just a few minutes ago was that the supreme national

security council of the country, the top decision—making body, has convened for an emergency session. that can mean many things, so i think it is best to refrain from speculation about the specific condition of the president but we know whatever happened is serious. that meeting a signal and also the fact we have been seeing such a rolling coverage on state media about how serious the situation is. precisely. as your presenter and noted ebrahim raisi was elected with the lowest turnout in history. this doesn't mean he doesn't have any base, but given the nature he was elected and given his proximity to ayatollah khamenei, this is an important event in the country's history. iran is run at the top of the pyramid by the supreme leader, this means there will not be a discontinuity of government in the

country in the event he has passed away. there are also constitutional provisions for what happens if the president passes away or is incapacitated. the vice president will take over in such an event and the vice president together with the chiefjustice and the parliament speaker will oversee elections in 50 days, so there are contingencies in place for that kind of scenario. we should of course keep repeating that we do not know at the moment the condition of the iranian president and the foreign minister. i wondered if you had any thoughts on the fact that it looks like both of those important people were travelling on the same helicopter. are there any specific rules around people flying together in iran? i’m specific rules around people flying together in iran?— together in iran? i'm not privy to the details _ together in iran? i'm not privy to the details of _ together in iran? i'm not privy to the details of security _ together in iran? i'm not privy to the details of security but - together in iran? i'm not privy to the details of security but i - together in iran? i'm not privy to the details of security but i do i the details of security but i do find it strange to top officials would be travelling in the same helicopter. there were several other

current vessels —— government officials who attended and they were said to be in another helicopter so that would have made sense. having said that, while ebrahim raisi was the president elected in the lowest turnout in history, his foreign minister has been far less effective and played far less of a role in democracy compared to his predecessor, who negotiated the iran nuclear deal. indirect talks with the us right now is his deputy, so while the potential death of the president will not have a major impact on continuity, you could say the same about diplomacy. haste impact on continuity, you could say the same about diplomacy.- the same about diplomacy. we are seeine the the same about diplomacy. we are seeing the pictures _ the same about diplomacy. we are seeing the pictures state _ the same about diplomacy. we are seeing the pictures state tv - the same about diplomacy. we are seeing the pictures state tv is - seeing the pictures state tv is showing of people praying after this news broke. i am wondering whether we could look wider, outside of iran, and the impact this would have across the wider region, especially

as we all know at the moment with the conflict in israel and gaza. again i think iran is a political system is quite broad, there are a number of decision—making bodies, top of which is the supreme national security council which has just convened, so i think the continuity of foreign policy and government is unlikely to be impacted by the potential demise of the president or foreign minister. haste potential demise of the president or foreign minister.— foreign minister. we have been showin: foreign minister. we have been showing the _ foreign minister. we have been showing the pictures _ foreign minister. we have been showing the pictures of - foreign minister. we have been showing the pictures of the - foreign minister. we have beenj showing the pictures of the fog. this area where the helicopter came down, it is very mountainous, isn't it? , ., ., down, it is very mountainous, isn't it? ,~ ., , down, it is very mountainous, isn't it? exactly and that has put away some of the _ it? exactly and that has put away some of the national— it? exactly and that has put away some of the national conspiracyl some of the national conspiracy theories —— initial conspiracy theories. some speculated that israel may have been involved. i think what we have seen so far doesn't indicate any kind of foul play. absolutely, and that is what our middle east _ play. absolutely, and that is what our middle east analyst _ play. absolutely, and that is what our middle east analyst was - play. absolutely, and that is what our middle east analyst was also l

our middle east analyst was also saying. at the moment it does look like this is an accident, it has been poor weather conditions, and the fact that the rescuers are struggling to get to the area. the fact they haven't had communication with the helicopter, that probably one of the not so positive signs and also you saying that the supreme national security council also having this emergency meeting, so behind the scenes obviously the political system in iran is looking at what they need to do next. absolutely, and i think they are being ready for all kinds of contingencies which would make sense. the most important thing right now is to avoid speculation and even if one were to speculate, to really think about the impact of this particular president, notjust any president, mindful of the manner in which he was elected, mindful of the role of this foreign minister in the role of this foreign minister in

the country's diplomacy, i think the conclusion that can be drawn is there will be continuity and continuity in foreign policy. unlikely to be any major shift with reference to things like gaza. what we could look at is what would happen in the event of the death. we know elections are to be held within 50 days and then one could speculate about who would be permitted to run in such an election, or will the supreme leader see this as an opportunity to open up the system with other candidates who were barred from running which caused such a low turnout in 2021? we don't know. , ., ., , , , ., know. ebrahim raisi is seen as a otential know. ebrahim raisi is seen as a potential successor _ know. ebrahim raisi is seen as a potential successor to _ know. ebrahim raisi is seen as a potential successor to the - know. ebrahim raisi is seen as a i potential successor to the ayatollah khamenei, isn't he?— khamenei, isn't he? absolutely, he is one of the _ khamenei, isn't he? absolutely, he is one of the names, _ khamenei, isn't he? absolutely, he is one of the names, there - khamenei, isn't he? absolutely, he is one of the names, there are - is one of the names, there are several others including the son of the supreme leader. there are bigger political games at play but the most eminent impact, i don't think there will be any shift in foreign policy

or continuity of governance. if there is a death, i think the most immediate political angle to look at is how will the political establishment view an early election? villa to be seen as an opportunity to expand a tightening political circle? in recent years we have seen an increasing number of pro—reform candidates being barred from running and being disqualified. 0r from running and being disqualified. or will it be tightened further? i think that is the number one thing to look at. ., ~ , ., , think that is the number one thing to look at. ., ~' ,, , . think that is the number one thing to look at. ., ~ i. , . ., to look at. thank you very much for “oinine us to look at. thank you very much for joining us on _ to look at. thank you very much for joining us on bbc— to look at. thank you very much for joining us on bbc news _ to look at. thank you very much for joining us on bbc news with - to look at. thank you very much for joining us on bbc news with the - joining us on bbc news with the latest you have on that and your insight into the country. i want to take you back to iranian state tv if i can just to show you what is going on on iranian state tv. they have been showing a variety of scenes. you can see that they are showing people who are praying but then we

also have those images we have been showing from near the crash scene, where there is a lot of fog and that is making the rescue operation really difficult. if we can show the other state tv we are getting into the building you can see there are a group of rescuers who are congregating near this mountainous area where the helicopter came down. if you are just area where the helicopter came down. if you arejustjoining us area where the helicopter came down. if you are justjoining us then let me remind you of the latest we have. a helicopter carrying the iranian president has been involved in an accident. state media say that ebrahim raisi was on board the helicopter that experienced a hard landing. there were three helicopters in the presidential convoy. state media also saying that they helicopter the president was on was also carrying the foreign minister. we should say that there

is no word yet on the condition of those on board the helicopter and latest reports say that it has been really difficult to get contact with the area where the helicopter came down. ijust want the area where the helicopter came down. i just want to play you what the interior minister has been saying on state tv. let's have a listen to this, from a little while ago, on the latest the interior minister was briefing to state tv. translation: {lin minister was briefing to state tv. translation:— minister was briefing to state tv. translation: ., , translation: on the return “ourney the president — translation: on the return “ourney the president and i translation: on the return “ourney the president and others _ the president and others accompanying him were coming back and several helicopters. one of the helicopters was forced to make a rough landing due to weather conditions and fog in the area. various rescue teams are moving with view of the fog and weather conditions. it will take time to get to the location of the helicopter. things are under control in the rescue team are doing their work and we hope it will be done as soon as

possible. there was contact but considering it is a complicated region getting a connection is difficult. while waiting for the rescue teams to arrive and send more information. rescue teams to arrive and send more information-— information. that is the interior minister on _ information. that is the interior minister on state _ information. that is the interior minister on state tv. _ information. that is the interior minister on state tv. of- information. that is the interior minister on state tv. of course | information. that is the interior i minister on state tv. of course we have been talking a lot about iran but this does have interesting implications around the world and we are getting a line in from the us state department. it says it is watching reports of this possible hard landing of a helicopter carrying the iranian president and foreign minister, so the state department saying they are closely watching all these reports coming out of iran. my colleague is still with me. for viewers who are joining us, we are seeing these pictures that state tv showing of this fog and rain in this area where the helicopter came down. what is the latest we know about what has happened.

latest we know about what has happened-— latest we know about what has hat-ened. , , . , happened. these pictures tell you exactly what _ happened. these pictures tell you exactly what is — happened. these pictures tell you exactly what is going _ happened. these pictures tell you exactly what is going on _ happened. these pictures tell you exactly what is going on and i happened. these pictures tell you exactly what is going on and that l happened. these pictures tell you | exactly what is going on and that is that search and rescue teams are searching for a helicopter in very difficult conditions. thick fog we are looking at and it is a wooded area, it is mountainous terrain, and thatis area, it is mountainous terrain, and that is complicating the search. you and i have been speaking for about and i have been speaking for about an hour or more and we still don't have much more information other than the fact that the helicopter was one of three travelling in a convoy carrying both the president of iran ebrahim raisi as well as his foreign minister, and that they were heading to the city of tabriz in the north—west of iran after returning from the border with azerbaijan. you mentioned how the united states has reacted. the fact that they are carefully monitoring this development, and it is important to put this into perspective. ebrahim raisi is very powerful in iran, he is the president, but the iranian system is different to many of the

western countries we see. the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei is the most powerfulfigure supreme leader ayatollah khamenei is the most powerful figure and supreme leader ayatollah khamenei is the most powerfulfigure and he calls the shots. president ebrahim raisi is seen as a protege of the supreme leader and is closely aligned and before he came to power in 2021, albeit amidst record low turnout, he was head of iran's powerfuljudiciary, and the powerful judiciary, and the judiciary powerfuljudiciary, and the judiciary in iran is extremely powerful. it was part of not only the crackdown on protesters we saw in 2022, it is still issuing death sentences and consequences for those who dare to protest the regime, but has has always worked with the security services to crackdown on dissent and prosecute many who stand up dissent and prosecute many who stand up to the regime. this will be taken very seriously, this is a powerful figure. very seriously, this is a powerful fiture. ., ., ., ~ figure. for the moment, thank you very much- —

figure. for the moment, thank you very much- a _ figure. for the moment, thank you very much. a reminder _ figure. for the moment, thank you very much. a reminder of - figure. for the moment, thank you very much. a reminder of our i very much. a reminder of our breaking news that a helicopter carrying the iranian president has been involved in an accident. state media say president ebrahim raisi was on board the helicopter that experienced what they say is a hard landing. it was also said to be carrying around's foreign minister. the interior minister said rescuers were still trying to reach the site which as you can see from these pictures has heavy fog. continuing coverage on the bbc news website and 3pp coverage on the bbc news website and app with a special live page. stay with us on bbc news for the latest. hello. good afternoon. it's an afternoon of contrast. quite chilly where you've got the sea fog. very warm inland. 23, 2a degrees celsius, possibly 25 for a few. but over the coming week we are in for some changes. it'll turn cooler after that dry warm start because of the wet and the windier weather moving in. quite widespread rain. it looks like at this stage.

so we've got the sea haar and fret near the north sea coast. we've had some sea fog around the irish sea coast as well. but inland there's less cloud than we had yesterday across england, wales and fewer showers. but there are still some storms around. very isolated, though, in comparison, but slow—moving, giving a lot of rain. one or two further north across northern england, notably cumbria potentially, and also across northern ireland, southern scotland. but there's more cloud generally across north and central scotland today and it's thick enough to produce the odd spot of rain and drizzle. and, actually, as those showers and storms fade this evening, that mist and low cloud will roll in very widely again to central and eastern areas. further west, there'll be a few fog patches as well and it'll be a slightly fresher night for sleeping compared with last night and a cooler start therefore too on monday morning, but a murky grey one once again. it'll be a few hours before that strong may sunshine gets to work and burns it away. and, in fact, it should retreat from most of the east coast as well. tomorrow, a subtle change in wind direction and warm in the sunshine again, possibly northern ireland seeing some of the highest temperatures, 20 to 23. but that could, again, trigger

the odd slow—moving thunderstorm — with light winds, they won't move on very quickly. then overnight monday into tuesday, mist and fog returns, but also a few more showers approached from the east. and, actually, one or two on this weather front behind me start to break out further west. so it's still chilly, notably so in northern and eastern areas, and then we see the shower development across northern england, perhaps into central and southern parts of scotland, eventually the north. and this is the weather front which will bring some showery, potentially thundery rain to the west as well. sandwiched in between, still some warmth, still some sunshine, temperatures a little still above the average, but then they start to drop away. by the time we get to tuesday night and wednesday, we're pulling in this area of low pressure, we think. the devil's going to be in the detail as to exactly where that low pressure is going to land. but it does look as if it'll give many parts of the uk some wetter and some windier weather as well, and as temperatures fall away, it'll stay a showery picture towards the weekend as well.

live from london, this is bbc news. in breaking news... a helicopter carrying the iranian president, ebrahim raisi, has been involved in an accident. rescuers are on their way to the site — an iranian official has told the reuters news agency

the lives of the president raisi and iran's foreign minister are at risk. iranians have been urged to pray for their leaders — gathering in droves in the president's home city, following pleas from state media. hello, i'm nicky schiller. welcome to the programme. we start with the breaking news out of iran. a helicopter with the president on board has come down in what state media has called a "hard landing". state television has been showing people saying prayers. state tv said ebrahim raisi's aircraft was one of a number in a convoy returning from a visit to neighbouring azerbaijan when it was involved in an accident. the country's foreign minister is also thought to be on board. rescue efforts are being hampered by the poor weather conditions, as jon donnison reports.

rescue teams struggling through the fog to the scene of the accident.