The accident is said to have occurred with a so-called gyrocopter, a small helicopter-like aircraft, in connection with some form of combat operation during an ongoing "anti-terror operation" in eastern Iran.
General Hamid Mazandarani is reported to have been killed along with a pilot.
According to controlled information that has emerged, the crash occurred near the city of Sirkan, which is located in the troubled province of Sistan and Baluchistan, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iran's armed forces, including the Revolutionary Guard, launched a military operation there on October 26, after ten police officers were killed in an attack attributed to Sunni Muslim militiamen.
On Monday, the Iranian authorities announced another helicopter crash, which occurred at the end of October. A Revolutionary Guard member who was injured in the crash has died of his injuries, according to reports on Monday. According to official statements, the accident occurred during an "operational mission" in the southern parts of the province of Fars, which is located further west.
In May this year, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in another helicopter crash in Iran, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six other people.
