Italian media underscores role of Turkish Akinci drone in finding crash site of Iranian president's helicopter

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - Italian media highlighted the role of the Turkish Akinci drone in finding the crash site of the helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

The Corriere Della Sera, one of the most-read newspapers in Italy said in a headline: "Turkish aid revealed the limits of Iranian regime's capabilities."

It highlighted that Akinci is a Turkish word for an Ottoman raider who carried out swift reconnaissance and raid missions in the depth of enemy territory, and said the Turkish drone, which took off from an airbase in the southeastern province of Batman flew more than seven hours looking for the chopper.

Iranians, who can develop long-range ballistic missiles and a nuclear program, were forced to use Turkish aid to find the president and other officials in a mountainous region of East Azerbaijan province.

The AGI news agency said Iranian search and rescue teams were directed to the crash site only after the Akinci drone located it.

Raisi, the eighth Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, served as custodian of the Imam Reza shrine for years before becoming the country's judiciary chief in 2019 and president in 2021.

After a nightlong search operation hampered by bad weather, Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other top officials were declared dead early Monday.

Dozens of emergency rescue teams were dispatched where the accident occurred Sunday.

Mohammad Mokhber, who is the first vice president, will assume powers of the presidency until new elections are held, according to the Iranian Constitution.