A military helicopter in Iran crashed into a fruit and vegetable market in central Iran on Tuesday, reportedly killing four people.
According to state media, the accident happened in the city of Dorcheh, about 330 kilometers south of Tehran in Isfahan province.
Isfahan is home to a large Iranian airbase as well as a nuclear facility that was reportedly targeted by the US during the Iran-Israel conflict in June.
The plane was on a training mission, state television said. Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash, the agency said, broadcasting footage of debris and smoke billowing from market stalls.
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Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said two civilians in the market were also killed in the incident.
This is the second plane crash in less than a week in Iran. A separate F-4 fighter jet crashed near the western city of Hamedan, killing one pilot.
Iran has a history of fatal plane crashes. International sanctions have limited access to spare parts for Iran’s aircraft, leaving the country dependent on aging helicopters and jets for both military and civilian use.
Iran tells students to respect ‘red lines’
University students have the right to protest but must “recognize the limits”, an Iranian government spokesman said on Tuesday in the first official response to renewed anti-government protests at universities.
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Students kicked off the new academic term with weekend rallies, reviving chants from nationwide protests against the country’s theocratic leadership that culminated in a deadly crackdown in January.
On Monday, the third day of consecutive campus protests, videos showed students at Tehran University burning the national flag adopted after the 1979 Islamic revolution, AFP reported.
“Sacred things and the flag are two examples of these red lines that we must protect and must not cross, even at the height of anger,” said government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani.
She noted that Iranian scholars “carry trauma in their minds and have witnessed events that could disturb and enrage them; this resentment is justified.”
An initial wave of protests began in December, sparked by economic woes in the sanctions-hit country, but quickly escalated into large-scale demonstrations that culminated on January 8 and 9 in one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s leadership in decades.
The riots prompted a heavy-handed state response that reportedly left thousands dead. The US Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) documented more than 7,000 deaths, warning that the actual death toll could be significantly higher.
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Iranian authorities admit more than 3,000 dead, but say the violence was the result of “extremist acts” instigated by the United States and Israel.
During the riots, the authorities struggled to find a balance between acknowledging the economic grievances of the protesters and condemning those labeled as “rioters”.
Mohajerani said on Tuesday that an inquiry committee was looking into the “origins and elements” of the protests and would submit its findings.
