European Union Officials, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi – Together With Hamas, Hizbullah, And The Taliban – Express Condolences For The Death Of Iranian President Raisi, Who Was Responsible For The Murder Of Thousands Of Iranians In 1988 And Since

Following the announcement of the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Abdollahian in a helicopter crash on May 19, 2024, condolences were expressed by Hamas, the Taliban, and Hizbullah, as well as by Syria, Russia, and other countries.

Additionally, European Union officials – High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and European Council president Charles Michel – as well as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Grossi hastened to express their condolences for the deaths. Later, France,[1] Germany,[2] Switzerland,[3] New Zealand,[4] and the U.S.[5] also expressed condolences. 

Raisi was known as the "Butcher (or Hangman) of Tehran" for his involvement in the execution of thousands of Iranian oppositionists in 1988, when he was Tehran deputy prosecutor and a member of what was widely known as the "Death Committee." After that, as a senior official in the Iranian judiciary, he oversaw the repression of Iranian citizens, and, as president, the violent suppression of the civil protests that followed the death in police custody of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini after she was detained for improper hijab wear. He was also in charge of implementing the harsh hijab enforcement policy for women and teen girls in the country, under which they are routinely beaten, in some cases to death.

IAEA director-general Grossi opened the International Conference on Nuclear Security on May 20, 2024 in Vienna with a minute of silence in memory of Raisi and Abdollahian.

Borrel and Michel, for their part, expressed "sincere condolences" as well as "sympathies to the families of all the victims and to the Iranian citizens affected" in the crash – a statement that sparked a wave of rage on social media in Farsi because of Raisi's direct responsibility for the deaths of thousands of Iranian citizens, through the mass executions he oversaw or the violent suppression of protests during his career. It should be noted that in the past year alone, the Iranian regime executed 853 citizens, and in Raisi's harsh suppression of the hijab protests, thousands were injured and killed.

This report will present the reactions to the deaths of Raisi and Abdollahian by Grossi and EU officials:

IAEA Director General Grossi's Moment Of Silence In Memory Of Raisi And Abdollahian

On May 20, to open the International Conference on Nuclear Security, a forum of nuclear experts convening to discuss global nuclear issues, IAEA director-general Grossi called for a moment of silence in memory of Raisi and Abdollahian. He said: 

"Before we start with our work, important work for this week, we are all aware of the tragic news from the weekend, and I want to address my dear friend, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ambassador Najafi, to invite the whole [audience] to join me in observance of a minute of silence in honor of the late President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Ebrahim Raisi, the Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation who passed away tragically yesterday, after an accident. So please join me in observing a minute of silence."

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:

Josep Borrell, High Representative Of The European Union For Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: The EU Expresses "Sympathies To The Families Of All The Victims And To The Iranian Citizens Affected"

In an announcement released May 20, 2024, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the website of the Diplomatic Service of the European Union, expressed condolences for the deaths of Raisi and Abdollahian and stressed the EU's "sympathies to the families of all the victims and to the Iranian citizens affected."

The announcement stated in full: "The European Union offers its condolences for the death of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian and other Iranian officials involved in the tragic helicopter crash on Sunday. The EU expresses its sympathies to the families of all the victims and to the Iranian citizens affected."[6]

Charles Michel, European Council President: "Sincere Condolences For The Death Of President Raisi And Foreign Minister Abdollahian" And "Thoughts To The Families"

Also, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, the EU body in charge of setting the EU's policy agenda, tweeted, on May 20, the EU's "sincere condolences" for the deaths.

He wrote: "The EU expresses its sincere condolences 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."[7]