Officials at the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization offered condolences to Iran for the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and several other high-ranking officials after their helicopter crashed in the northern mountains of the country.
“Our condolences to the people of #Iran for the death of President Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and others who perished in the helicopter crash,” NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Daklallah posted the same message in Persian.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, offered his condolences on Monday.
President of the European Council Charles Michel
offered “sincere condolences” on behalf of the EU for “for the death of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian, as well as other members of their delegation and crew in a helicopter accident. Our thoughts go to the families.”
The US Treasury in 2019 sanctioned Raisi ‘for his administrative oversight over the executions of individuals who were juveniles at the time of their crime and the torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment …’
The U.N. National Security Council held a moment of silence for Raisi’s death on Monday.
The offerings of condolences and showing of mourning from the Western world have been met with heavy criticism on social media.
“As a former @NATO Assistant Secretary General, I am flabbergasted by this tweet. This is completely [inappropriate] on so many levels,” Marshall Billingslea said in response to NATO’s statement.
Raisi has been called the “Butcher of Tehran” for his role in ordering the deaths of thousands of political prisoners in the 1980s.
The U.S. Treasury in 2019 sanctioned Raisi “for his administrative oversight over the executions of individuals who were juveniles at the time of their crime and the torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners in Iran, including amputations,” according to ABC News.
No official cause of the crash has been determined yet. Initial reports are that weather was partly to blame, as there was heavy fog in the area where the crash happened. The weather, which also included rain and snow, also hampered rescue efforts for hours.
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