News - Yemen: Yemen's President Mahdi Al-Mashat affirmed that the Yemeni leadership and people stand by the Iranian people and their leadership in the difficult circumstances they are experiencing.

"We are following with great concern the incident that struck the plane carrying President Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and a number of Iranian officials," he said in a statement.

The helicopter was transporting President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials when it encountered difficulties and was forced to make a "hard landing."

The incident happened at Dizmar forest, between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa. President Raeisi was returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

An extensive search and rescue operation is underway to locate the site of the incident. Harsh weather conditions and the region's rugged terrain are hampering the rescue efforts.