EU reacts briefly
Putin praises Raisi as an “outstanding politician”
May 20, 2024, 11:04 a.m
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Iranian leader Raisi dies in a helicopter crash. Numerous friendly states and allies express their condolences. For the EU, Council President Michel is emphatically objective.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in Iran, as an “outstanding” politician and a “true friend of Russia”. Raisi’s death was an “irreplaceable loss,” Putin said in a letter to Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Khamenei published on the Kremlin website. Raisi made “an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good neighborly relations,” it said. Tehran had supplied Moscow with weapons and ammunition for the war against Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also described Raisi and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who also died in the crash, as “reliable friends” of Russia. They were “patriots” who “resolutely defended” the interests of their state.
China’s President Xi Jinping spoke of a “tragic death” and “great loss for the Iranian people.” The Chinese people have lost a “good friend,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
The radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas called Raisi an important supporter in the fight against Israel. Hamas said he had provided valuable help to the Palestinian people and tirelessly expressed solidarity in the Gaza war against Israel. He was also among the leaders who made significant political and diplomatic efforts to stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. As Israel’s arch enemy, Iran is one of the most important supporters of Hamas, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip with its attack on Israel on October 7th.
Raisi was on the flight back from a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev accident. The head of state of the neighboring country also called Raisi “an outstanding statesman” who “served his country with dedication and commitment throughout his life,” according to a condolence telegram from Aliyev to the Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei published in Baku. “On this sad day, I wish the Almighty to grant patience to the friendly and brotherly Iranian people,” Aliyev continued.
The Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif has declared a day of mourning. He also ordered the flag to be flown at half-mast “as a sign of respect for President Raisi and his companions and in solidarity with brotherly Iran,” the head of government told X. “The great Iranian nation will face this tragedy with its usual courage overcome,” he continued. Sharif welcomed Raisi to the Pakistani capital Islamabad in April for a three-day visit. The visit was intended to help ease tensions in relations after mutual attacks in the Iran-Pakistan border area in January.
The EU expressed itself much more briefly. Council leader Charles Michel expressed his condolences on behalf of the international community. “The EU expresses its sincere condolences on the death of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian, as well as other members of their delegation and crew in a helicopter accident,” wrote Michel on his official account on X. “Our thoughts are with the families.”
Raisi was President of Iran for almost three years. In his previous role as public prosecutor, he is said to have been responsible for numerous arrests and executions of political dissidents in 1988, which is why his opponents nicknamed him the “Butcher of Tehran.”
The EU only expanded its previous sanctions against Iran last week. The background is in particular the major Iranian attack on Israel with drones and missiles in mid-April, which followed a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus. The EU has also imposed sanctions on the country for serious human rights violations.