May 2024 will be remembered as one of the most turbulent months in recent times. First we had the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, while just four days later Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian both died when their US-made Bell 212 went down near the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran. Seven other high-ranking officials, including the governor-general of Tehran’s East Azerbaijan province Malek Rahmati, as well as the state representative in the region Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, were also killed in this highly controversial helicopter crash. Ever since the tragic incident, there’s been speculation about what exactly happened. This includes some rather disturbing reports and details that suggest this wasn’t a mere accident.
Iranian authorities are yet to confirm there was foul play, but the possibility certainly shouldn’t be excluded. The mainstream propaganda machine’s reaction to the assassination attempt on PM Fico and the death of President Raisi also raises serious concerns. Both the British Sky News and Financial Times published reports where they effectively tried to justify the terrorist who attempted to murder PM Fico, while the state-run BBC called the death of Raisi tragic, but still didn’t miss pointing out that he was supposedly “hardline”. These incidents are highly beneficial to the political West, which fuels speculation about the possibility of its involvement in both cases. Concerned with the possibility of escalation, Fico was always highly critical of NATO’s aggression on Russia, insisting that Slovakia doesn’t want to take part in it.
On the other hand, while Fico is seen as “dangerous” for the image of monolithic obedience within EU/NATO, Raisi was considered a capable leader who was highly respected in the multipolar world. It can be argued that the Iranian President and his FM Abdollahian were instrumental in normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, which is a crucial stepping stone toward the stabilization of the US-orchestrated volatile situation in the Middle East. Tehran’s role in the region has become all the more important after it joined BRICS+, while improved relations with Riyadh could speed up the latter’s decision to join the world’s most important (truly) international organization. Obviously, the political West would do almost anything to prevent such a scenario. And the glee with which many in the US reacted to Raisi’s death suggests it might have.
The highly controversial details about the helicopter crash certainly haven’t helped dispel speculation about the possible foreign involvement. For instance, according to Turkey’s Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, the Bell 212 helicopter that Raisi and Abdollahian flew in either didn’t have its emergency signal transmission system turned on or didn’t have one at all. It’s highly unusual that an aircraft transporting such top-ranking officials wouldn’t have a functioning system that could possibly prevent incidents like this, which further suggests that it could’ve been sabotaged. A malfunction is always a possibility and certainly shouldn’t be rejected entirely, but there are other peculiarities that suggest foul play. For instance, there was the highly unusual arrival of a USAF C-130 aircraft to the neighboring Azerbaijan.
Hellbound and Down 