According to the Agence France Presse report on May 19, Iranian officials and official media pointed out that on the evening of May 19, hard search and rescue continued in northwest Iran to find the helicopter that President Leahy was riding. According to reports, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pierhussain Kuliwand, said that the accident site was "still not found" late at night because of the "very difficult conditions" of rescue workers searching in the rain and fog shrouded mountains.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the Iranian people to pray for the safe return of the President and others. "The Iranian people need not worry," he promised. "The state administration will not be interrupted."
According to reports, a diplomatic spokesman in Washington said, "We are closely following the relevant information."
According to the report, Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have provided support to Tehran and expressed their willingness to assist in search and rescue, as have Syria and Iraq. Turkey has sent 32 rescuers and 6 vehicles to assist in the search and rescue.
The European Union announced on the 19th that, at the request of Iran, it had launched the Copernicus Emergency Management Service to support the search and rescue work in Tehran.
According to the Iraqi news agency, President Leahy and Foreign Minister Abdullahian boarded the helicopter together.
