Two high-ranking members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) died in a mysterious gyroplane crash in Sistan-Baluchistan, near Sirkan.
Brigadier General Hamid Mazandarani, commander of the Nineveh Brigade, and his pilot lost their lives during a military exercise targeting counterterrorism.
How the plane crashed and why has been kept a secret adding fuel to conspiracy theories regarding the incident.
Cause Remains Unknown
The Iranian government is keeping the cause of the incident a secret, Reuters said.
The ultra-light aircraft reportedly crashed while conducting a combat operation, only days after ten Iranian law enforcement members were killed in a terrorist attack in the region.
Sirkan has seen clashes involving Iranian security forces, Sunni militants, and drug traffickers, making the region very volatile.
Previous Incident
Helicopter and plane crashes, though rare in Iran, have claimed high-profile lives recently.
In May, a helicopter crash took the lives of then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and seven others, although the cause remains undisclosed.