May 19 was NOT a good day to be a leader in the Middle East. Iran's controversial President Ebrahim Rasi was killed in a helicopter crash, and the people of Saudi Arabia also learned sad news about their age 88 King.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud will receive medical treatment for a "lung infection," according to the country's official news agency.
The Saudi Press Agency posted on the morning of May 19 that the king would be going through a medical test because he was suffering "from a high temperature and pain in the joints." The tests discovered that a lung infection was causing his issues.
"The medical team decided that he — may God protect him — should undergo a treatment program consisting of antibiotics until the inflammation went away, God willing," the Saudi Press Agency said in another post.
#الديوان_الملكي: استكمل #خادم_الحرمين_الشريفين الفحوصات الطبية التي أجريت في العيادات الملكية في قصر السلام بجدة، وقد تبين وجود التهاب في الرئة، وقرر الفريق الطبي خضوعه ـ حفظه الله ـ في قصر السلام بجدة لبرنامج علاجي عبارة عن مضاد حيوي حتى يزول الالتهاب بحول الله.#واس pic.twitter.com/88pdCeI0xT
— واس الأخبار الملكية (@spagov) May 19, 2024
King Salman took the throne back in January 2015 after the death of King Abdullah.
Iranian state media is reporting that May 19 was also a terrible day for their leadership. President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials have been reported dead after a helicopter crash.
The helicopter was travelling in the mountainous region of the country's northwest, according to the state media.
Rasi's most widely known controversy happened back in 1988, when he oversaw the mass executions of political prisoners. For those exploits, he was nicknamed the "Butcher of Tehran," and it's likely that many people feel his reputation never recovered.
Iran has also backed the terrorist group Hamas, which is currently locked in a deadly battle with Israel. As a result, Israel swiftly and bluntly denied any involvement in the helicopter crash, simply explaining to Rueters that "it wasn't us."
The crash site was across a steep valley according to Iran's state media. That same media claimed that the wreck happened "due to technical failure."
Raisi was headed to Tehran on Sunday after travelling to Iran's border next to Ajerbaijan to inaugurate a dam with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The crash killed eight people in all, including three crew members aboard the helicopter.
Conditions were NOT good for a rescue or research mission, as forested terrain and heavy fog made any investigation extremely difficult. The officials had been missing for more than 12 hours before the helicopter was spotted.
It's debatable whether or not the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Iran are actually good people or not. However, that does not diminish the pain that their supporters must be feeling right now.
Prayers for everyone involved.
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