The commanders of the army and the IRGC met with the families of the victims of the President's flight

But it was not until after 16:00 local time (12:45 GMT) that Iranian state TV reported that the helicopter carrying the president had experienced what it called a “hard landing” while flying to Tabriz in heavy fog and rain. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi later confirmed that the president’s delegation had been travelling in a convoy of three helicopters and that his aircraft was “forced to make a hard landing due to bad weather conditions and fog in the area”. He said multiple rescue teams were heading to the area but that fog, snow and rain and the local terrain were hampering the search operation. As for the other two helicopters that were flying alongside the president's helicopter, they had initiated a search for 15 to 20 minutes after communication was lost.