FOLLOW US

The U.S. State Department offered condolences on Monday following the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other top officials in a helicopter crash. This drew criticism due to Iran’s President’s notorious human rights abuses.

Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian died on Sunday when their helicopter crashed in the Dizmar Forest in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. The officials were returning to Tehran after a trip to the border with Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA reported that the crash resulted in the deaths of eight people, including three crew members aboard the Bell helicopter, which had been purchased by Iran in the early 2000s.

The Iranian President's international crimes and assaults on his own citizens (especially women) earned him the nickname of "The Butcher of Tehran."

Trump Media Stock Rises Again, Adding Billions to Former President’s Stake - USA Herald

Fate of Iranian President Still Uncertain After Helicopter Crash - USA Herald

Part 1: Catching Killers or the Rise of Fog Data Science - USA Herald

Butcher of Tehran Killed in Helicopter Crash: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Dead - USA Herald

State Department Statement

In an official statement, the State Department expressed its sympathies for the deaths of President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation.

 "As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms," said spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Ebrahim Raisi, infamously known as the “Butcher of Tehran,” was involved in the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988. His death necessitated the appointment of interim leadership by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Filitti criticized the State Department's response. "While it is understandable for the State Department to issue condolences when there is the death of a foreign head of state, it's baffling that someone with such an atrocious record of violating human rights, supporting global terrorism, and targeting the United States and its allies is receiving condolences from the U.S. government," he added.

Mounting Criticism of State

"Raisi has been responsible for the incarceration, torture, rape, and murder of tens of thousands of people over the last few decades," said Gerard Filitti, senior counsel with the Lawfare Project, which provides pro bono legal services to protect civil and human rights globally. "Raisi is not a man who will be missed."