Iranian Revolutionary Guard general, pilot killed in gyroplane crash

General Hamid Mazandarani and another IRGC member die when ultralight plane goes down during anti-terror operation in restive Sistan-Baluchistan province

Iranian late president Ebrahim Raisi (3rd L) visiting the navy base of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, in a picture released on February 2, 2024. (Iranian Presidency/ AFP)
Iranian late president Ebrahim Raisi (3rd L) visiting the navy base of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, in a picture released on February 2, 2024. (Iranian Presidency/ AFP)

TEHRAN — An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general and pilot were killed in a helicopter crash during an anti-terror operation in the country’s restive southeast, state media reported on Monday.

The “ultra-light gyroplane” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “had an accident while conducting combat operations” in a border area, IRNA news agency said.

It said the crash happened in Sirkan, a city in Sistan-Baluchistan province, and identified the dead as General Hamid Mazandarani, the commander of the Nineveh Brigade of Golestan province, and Hamed Jandaghi, a pilot of the IRGC ground forces. The IRGC is a US-designated terrorist organization.

An autogiro, resembling a helicopter in rotor design but simpler and smaller, is typically used in Iran for pilot training and border monitoring. It is capable of carrying two people.

Iran’s armed forces have been mounting an operation in the region since October 26, when 10 police officers were killed in an attack claimed by Sunni Muslim militants.

They have killed several militants and arrested others during the operation, according to Iranian media outlets.

Sistan-Baluchistan borders Pakistan and Afghanistan and is one of the most impoverished provinces in the Islamic republic.

It is home to a large number of the Baluch minority, an ethnic group spread between Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who practice Sunni Islam in contrast to the country’s predominantly Shiite population.

The province has experienced recurring clashes between Iranian security forces and rebels from the Baluch minority, radical Sunni groups, and drug traffickers.

Helicopter accidents are a rare sight in Iran, but former president Ebrahim Raisi was killed when his helicopter crashed into a mountainside in May, triggering snap elections in the country.

The ultra-conservative president was accompanied by then-foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six other people who were all killed.

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