This Outdated Video Does Not Show a Turkish Night Vision Aircraft Searching for the Iranian President

Misbar investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The circulating video is outdated and does not depict Turkish helicopters equipped with night vision devices assisting in the search for the Iranian president’s helicopter.

American Military Conducts Night Vision Training

The viral video was published by the U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on April 13, 2012, and was described as footage of military helicopter boarding and landing exercises conducted using night vision technology.

Such training is conducted regularly to simulate some of the most challenging nighttime scenarios that soldiers may encounter during rescue operations.

Turkey Sends AkıNcı Drone to Assist in Search for Ibrahim Raisi’s Plane

The assertion began circulating after the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced Sunday evening the allocation of an "Akıncı" reconnaissance drone and a helicopter equipped with night vision devices to participate in the search and rescue efforts for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation, whose helicopter wreckage was first located by these Turkish aircraft.

The Ministry confirmed that this step was taken in response to a request from Iranian authorities, received through the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to provide Iran with a helicopter equipped with night vision technology for participation in search and rescue operations.

The Ministry also explained that a team comprising 6 vehicles carrying 32 trained personnel in mountain search and rescue operations departed from the provinces of Van (southeast) and Erzurum (northeast) towards the helicopter accident site.

Tens of Thousands Track Path of Turkish AkıNcı Drone

Since its launch, tens of thousands of people have been tracking the path of the Turkish 'Akıncı' drone, which Ankara allocated to support search and rescue efforts related to the helicopter accident involving Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation.

Official Announcement of the Death of the Iranian President

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and their accompanying delegation were officially declared dead by Iranian state television and other Iranian media outlets early this morning. The helicopter carrying them was discovered the day after it was involved in an "accident" in a rugged mountainous area in East Azerbaijan province. According to state television, no "signs" of life were found among the wreckage.

News of the death came about 15 hours after Iranian state television announced that the helicopter carrying President Raisi and several officials had been involved in an accident. This occurred after President Raisi participated in the opening of a water dam on the border with Azerbaijan alongside his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev.

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Outdated Photo Allegedly Shows Iranian President Raisi After Helicopter Crash Rescue

This Video Predates The Recent Helicopter Incident Involving The Iranian President