No sign of foul play so far in Raisi helicopter crash; claims Iranian investigation

Iranian military investigators have so far found no evidence of criminal activity in the helicopter crash that killed late President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others, according to state media IRNA.

According to Iranian state news agency “A preliminary report on the crash by the general staff of the armed forces said the craft had “caught fire after hitting an elevated area”, finding no traces of “bullet holes” on the helicopter wreckage.

The report also stated that Raisi’s helicopter had been flying on a “pre-planned route and did not leave the designated flight path” before the crash on Sunday.

“No suspicious content was observed during the communications between the watch tower and the flight crew,” it added, reported IRNA.

However according to Iranian news agency, while the first statement on the crash did not lay blame, it said that more details would follow. More time was needed, the army said, to conduct investigations.