"Deeply concerned by reports regarding President Raisi’s helicopter flight today. We stand in solidarity with the Iranian people in this hour of distress, and pray for well being of the President and his entourage", he said in a post on X.

The helicopter carrying President Raisi and several other senior leaders, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, experienced an 'incident' in the country's east Azerbaijan province on Sunday following bad weather, and rescue teams were on their way to the area, reports said.

The helicopter - one of three travelling in a convoy - made a "hard landing" after it got into difficulties in heavy fog in northern Iran, as per Iranian media.