After Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, conspiracy theories have started doing rounds on social media with some users suspecting America/CIA’s hand and others blaming Israel for the supreme leader protege’s demise.
Iran blames US sanctions for helicopter crash that killed Ebrahim Raisi
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s former foreign minister, blamed US sanctions on aviation parts for the crash of the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi.
In an interview with state television, Zarif said sanctions undermined Iran’s access to modern aviation facilities.
“One of the culprits behind yesterday’s tragedy is the United States, because of its sanctions that bar Iran from procuring essential aviation parts,” said Zarif.
The Bell 212 helicopter
The helicopter that crashed in Iran was a Bell model 212, according to Iranian state media. It is a civilian version of the ubiquitous UH-1N “Twin Huey” from the Vietnam War era. These helicopters are widely used around the world, both by governments and private operators.
In the late 1960s, it was developed for the Canadian military and introduced in 1971. It is still unclear how old the helicopter that crashed was. However, sanctions against the country often prevent access to updated aircraft and spare parts.
US denies any role
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had no idea what caused the helicopter crash. He said he doesn’t necessarily see a major impact on regional security.
“Regarding the death of Iran’s president, in the very unfortunate helicopter crash. We continue to monitor the situation, but we don’t have any insights into the cause of the of the accident at this point,” Austin said.
“I know the Iranians are investigating or will investigate. And so we’ll see what the outcome is once their investigation is complete. In terms of our force posture, I don’t have any announcements to make. And again, this is something that we’ll continue to watch. And I don’t necessarily see any broader regional security impacts at this point in time,” he added.
“I won’t speculate as to what they what they’ll blame. Again, they have to conduct an investigation to see what the cause of the crash was. It could be a number of things: mechanical failure, pilot error, you name it,” Austin said.
Conspiracy theories on social media
The death of Ebrahim Raisi has sparked several conspiracy theories on social media with users blaming US/CIA or Israeli hand.
A user named @wanderpill on X (formerly known as Twitter) questioned if Mossad and the CIA were involved in the helicopter crash, citing the US Central Intelligence Agency’s assassination of Suleimani, their tracking of Iran’s leaders, and the close alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan. The tweet read:
“Are the Mossad and the CIA involved in taking down the helicopter transporting the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian? It’s too early to tell, but considering the ClA’s assassination of Suleimani, their tracking of Iran’s leaders, and the close alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”
“The site of the crash is near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, making it a perfect opportunity for a covert operation and the bad weather provides a convenient cover. The disappearance of the president’s helicopter, along with its two accompanying helicopters, raises many questions. The amount of electronic signals generated by such a flight, including satellite communication, secure systems, and cellular noise, should have made it nearly impossible for the helicopter to vanish without a trace.”
“The most reasonable explanation for this is that they were jammed completely using electronic warfare or fooled into believing they were still in contact with the president’s helicopter. Recent events, such as Hezbollah’s attack on one of Israel’s most advanced intelligence-gathering pieces of equipment, demonstrate that modern militaries are capable of cracking, jamming communication lines, and fooling other militaries. This adds to the possibility of a covert operation involving the Mossad and CIA in the downing of that helicopter. But again, it’s too early to tell…”
However, one user called on the conspiracy theorists blaming CIA and Mossad for the helicopter crash and blamed ‘no visibility’ due to fog instead. “I love how conspiracy theorists are already blaming the CIA and Mossad for the helicopter crash carrying the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, when there’s literally next to no visibility due to fog. Occam’s razor, folks.”
Another user called it a murder, saying: “The death of the president of Iran Ebrahin Raisi is confirmed, this murder has the seal of the CIA, MI5 and MOSSAD. Zionism is an expert in this type of “accidents.” The pro-Israel Jewish religious orangutans are already saying on the networks the only thing they know how to say.”
Below are some more tweets:
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