Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and others have been found dead at the site of a helicopter crash Monday after an hourslong search through a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, state media reported. Raisi was 63. The crash comes as the Middle East ...
That's what my first thoughts were as well, but they were flying in some pretty nasty weather. Thick fog, high winds, in a remote forested mountain range. While it is entirely possible that the CIA and IDF may have collaborated on some impromptu helicopter modifications, I think the question is less "Who could have done this?" and is more "Why were they flying in those conditions?"
True, the weather was really bad in that area, but he was traveling in a 3-helicopter convoy, and only his helicopter crashed. Now, I'm not saying that it's impossible, or even improbable that it was an accident, but we can't really rule out sabotage at this point, especially considering how big of a target he had on his head from both the US and Israel. Personally, I really hope it was an accident. I mean, I shed no tears for that son of a bitch, but the ramifications if this was an assassination are unsettling.
We can't rule it out, but Occam's razor says we should think of it as an accident right up until the moment where we find evidence for sabotage and an accident isn't enough anymore to explain it.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi won five NBA championships and was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a two-time NBA Finals MVP.
They would have won even more championships if Shaq hadn't insisted on eating non-halal meat during team meetings. You could cut the tension with a knife.
I'm not going to dispute your clearly superior knowledge of basketball statistics, and those are all remarkable parallels, but I think it's more likely they were referring to the helicopter crash.
Bunch of old dudes dying while using a notoriously risky mode of transportation in bad weather over tricky terrain, while the only thing pointing to Israel thus far is motive. I'd say low.
...while flying in a helicopter introduced in 1968 and last manufactured in 1998 in a country that is sanctioned and most likely can't reliably get spare parts for it.
Unlikely, since helicopters are pretty dangerous (especially cold war era ones), have a single point of failure, and the accident apparently happened in bad conditions and in a mountainous region.
Also the Iranian president is more of a state figurehead than an actual ruler with the power to change the country. The Ayatollah is the one pulling the strings.
Don't even think Iran are going to blame this on Israel, as they would get clapped in a direct confrontation with the IDF, and they know it.
They probably suspect Israel did it, but since they fired close to 400 missiles and drones into Israel and hit nothing, and Israel fired one back and took out their air defence radar, they'll probably stick to arming Hamas in order to hurt Israel.
about as likely as internal power struggles, or some other actor who wants to maybe stir up shit in the middle east. (wouldn't put it past the russians, to be honest. they'd benefit from israel going to war and people forgetting about Ukraine.)
not as likely as mechanical failure or shitty weather.
that's a deliberate geopolitical move to gain direct involvement of the US into the conflict by inciting retaliation from Iran. So they were expecting the repercussion.
It is a dick move but not as severe as attacking the head of the country. Just imagine during the WW2 the Allied assassinate the Japanese Emperor. It was a no go.
Man, If you hate someone, find a rational reasons for them to be hated. Not every wrongs can be linked to them. Use your head, not emotion.
Your prejudice is showing. It's actually YOUR country that goes around the world assassinating people in their own lands. But you guys like to throw the ball at someone else and pretend you're righteous. It's more likely to be you guys.
Extremely likely. These people getting upvoted by Israel's media farms below literally don't take into account the reach of Israel's special ops.
E: How much are you guys getting paid to be shills and spread misinformation? Keep burying facts in downvotes if that makes you feel better, but you're all terrible human beings for it.
(Detailed Report
Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED
Factual Reporting: HIGH
Country: United Kingdom
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Magazine
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY)
Full of undercover and sneaky operations. Not your typical "explosion". That's a narrative they try to spread to divert attention from their sneakier exploits.