Monday, July 20, 2026

No DNA required to identify body of President Raisi: Official

Mr Raisi and other officials died after the helicopter suffered a hard landing due to bad weather in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

• May 20, 2024
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi

Head of Iran’s Disaster Management, Mohammad Hassan Nami, has said there was no need to conduct DNA tests on the bodies of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials who died in a helicopter crash. 

Mr Nami explained, “All the bodies were recognisable despite the burns and had been transferred to the Legal Medicine Organization.”

Mr Raisi and other officials died after the helicopter suffered a hard landing due to bad weather in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province while returning from Khoda Afarin country to Tabriz. 

Search and rescue workers located the crash site in the dense Dizmar forest in East Azerbaijan Province following an 18-hour operation hampered by heavy fog, rain, and the rugged terrain of the area.

Many world leaders have been reacting by pouring in their tributes and condolences to the tragic death Mr Raisi, describing it as shocking.

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