Tehran- Leaders and officials from several countries began to offer their condolences to Iran following the announcement of the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials in a helicopter crash northwest of the country.
In a message on Monday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei announced five days of national mourning.
Ayatollah said he received the bitter news of the martyrdom of the popular, competent and hardworking president and his companions with great sorrow.
The Leader noted that the tragic incident happened when Raeisi and his team were making an attempt to serve the Iranian people.
The entire period of responsibility of this noble and devoted man, both during the short term of the presidency and before that, was completely spent in non-stop efforts to serve the people, the country and Islam, he emphasized.
“Dear Raeisi did not know fatigue,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding that the Iranian nation lost a sincere and valuable servant in this tragic incident.
“In Russia, the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were known as true, reliable friends of our country,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday morning.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Raeisi as an “outstanding politician” and said his death was an “irreplaceable loss.”
“Raeisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was dedicated to serving his homeland,” Putin said in a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei.
“As a true friend of Russia, he made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good-neighborly relations between our countries, and made great efforts to take them to the level of a strategic partnership.”
“Their role in strengthening mutually beneficial Russian-Iranian cooperation and trusting partnership is invaluable,” Lavrov added, extending “condolences to the families and friends of the victims, as well as to the entire friendly people of Iran.”
“Our thoughts and hearts are with you in this sad hour.” Moscow was involved in the hours-long search efforts to locate the presidential helicopter the night before.
China’s President Xi Jinping paid tribute to President Raeisi, saying the “tragic death” of his Iranian counterpart is “a great loss to the Iranian people.”
“President Xi Jinping pointed out… the Chinese people have lost a good friend,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference.
Xi sent “sincere condolences” to Iran’s first vice president, the spokesman added.
Wang said China had also expressed “deep sorrow” at the death of Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Xi said that “President Raeisi has made important contributions to maintaining Iran’s security and stability, promoting national development and prosperity, and also made active efforts to consolidate and develop the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership”.
China would offer “all necessary support and assistance” and “continue to support the Iranian government and people in safeguarding their independence, stability and development”, Wang said.
The EU also expressed “sincere condolences” to Iran.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise” of Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian, and their accompanying delegation. “My heartfelt condolences to his family and the people of Iran. India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow.”
India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar also posted on X that he was “deeply shocked to hear of the passing away” of President Raeisi and his own counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
“Our condolences to their families,” he said. “We stand with the people of Iran at the time of this tragedy.”
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, sent condolences “on this terrible loss” and said, “The great Iranian nation will overcome this tragedy with customary courage.”
Jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan said, “We are deeply grieved to hear of the tragic deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash. They led their country’s resolute support for the beleaguered Palestinian people.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Raeisi as his “counterpart and brother.”
“I remember Mr. Raeisi with respect and gratitude” as a person who “worked for peace for the Iranian people and for our region during his tenure,” he added.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he was shocked by the tragic demise of President Raeisi.
He described the Iranian chief executive as “an exemplary person, an outstanding world leader,” as well as a “protector of the sovereignty of his people and an unconditional friend” of Venezuela.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, who met with the Iranian delegation during an inauguration ceremony for a water dam project just one day earlier, said he was “deeply shocked by the news of the tragic loss suffered by our friendly and brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran and its people” in a statement addressing Iranian Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ), and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani all sent heartfelt condolences to the Islamic Republic.
The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council expressed the “deepest condolences” and “reaffirmed the solidarity of the GCC with the government and people of Iran.”
“I remember my brother, President Raisi, with all respect and gratitude,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country also took part in efforts to locate the helicopter on 19 May.
Other Arab leaders and representatives of the Axis of Resistance expressed deep condolences to the people and leadership of Iran.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and the leadership and people of the Islamic Republic. We affirm that Iraq stands by the Iranian people during this difficult time,” said Iraqi President Abdul Latif al-Rashid.
Lebanon has announced three days of national mourning for the deaths of Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian, and the rest of their team.
In a statement, Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah gave “its deepest condolences and feelings of sympathy” to Iran’s Supreme Leader, leadership, and people.
“We have known His Eminence, the martyred president, closely for a long time. He was a big brother to us, a strong supporter, and a staunch defender of our issues and the nation’s issues, most notably Jerusalem and Palestine, and a protector of the resistance movements and their fighters in all the positions of responsibility he assumed,” Hezbollah said.
Hezbollah also expressed sorrow over the loss of the “active and sacrificing minister,” Amir-Abdollahian, and the rest of Raisi’s team who were killed in the crash.
“We express our shared feelings of grief and pain with the brotherly Iranian people, and our complete solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, in this painful and grave accident,” said Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
The Palestinian Hamas group expressed “shared feelings of sorrow and pain with the brotherly Iranian people and … full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in this tragic incident.”
The martyrs, it said, “held honorable stances in support of the Palestinian cause” and the nation’s “legitimate struggle against the Zionist entity.”
“They made diligent efforts in solidarity [with] … the steadfast Gaza Strip” and tried to “stop the Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people,” Hamas noted.
Mohammad Ali al-Houthi of Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement expressed “deepest condolences to the Iranian people, the Iranian leadership, and the families [of the victims].”
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