The United Nations held a moment of silence on Monday for Ebrahim Raisi, despite his nickname as “Butcher of Tehran”, for presiding over Iran’s abuses of human rights.
Robert Wood, the United States Deputy ambassador to the U.N., was among the representatives who stood for a moment at the U.N. Security Council to honor Raisi.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan referred to the moment of silence in memory of Raisi’s “mass murdering.” as a “disgrace.”
Erdan has slammed the U.N. Security Council’s inaction to release the remaining Hamas hostages held since the attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Erdan stated that this Council “bowed their heads in respect of a man who is responsible for the massacring, murdering, and mutilating thousands in Iran and Israel and across the globe. What’s next? What’s next?
At a press conference in the afternoon, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller spoke about the U.S. participation in the moment.
When asked if U.S. participation was appropriate or not Miller responded, “We were quite clear that Ebrahim Raisi participated brutally in the repression against the Iranian people over nearly four decades.”
Miller cited Raisi as having been involved in “numerous horrifying human rights abuses” including the killing of thousands of political prisoners extrajudicially in 1988.
Miller stated that “some of the worst abuses of human rights occurred during his presidency, particularly the abuses of human rights against women and girls in Iran.” Miller added: “That being said, we do regret any deaths.” We do not want anyone to die in a helicopter accident. “But that doesn’t alter the fact of his record as a judge or as president of Iran.”
Behnam Behna Ben Taleblu, a specialist on Iranian security with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Foundation (FDD), has criticized the U.N. and the State Department for their self-defeating acts.
Taleblu stated, “Rather than using this time to push moral clarity, the muddled and ambiguous approach towards Raisi’s bloody history mistakenly prioritizes diplomatic niceties above reality.”
Senior adviser of the U.S. The ambassador to the U.N. stated that it was “the diplomatic norm” to observe moments of silence at the Security Council. This is not meant to be a tribute or honor to the man whose brutality and repression the U.S. had consistently countered.
“Raisi participated brutally in the repression against the Iranian people over nearly four decades.” The adviser stated that he was responsible for numerous horrific human rights violations, including playing an important role in the extrajudicial execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. “During his tenure, some of the worst abuses of human rights, particularly against women and girls in Iran, were committed.”
The Iranian state media confirmed on Monday morning that President Raisi and others, including Hossein Amirabadollahian the Foreign Minister, were found dead following an hour-long search in a foggy mountainous area of the northwest.
Raisi had just returned from the border between Iran and Azerbaijan, where he was to inaugurate a new dam with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev when the helicopter crash occurred in the Dizmar Forest in East Azerbaijan Province.
Raisi is seen as the protege of Iran’s supreme ruler Ayatollah Khamenei, and a possible successor to his position in the Shiite theocracy.
Raisi’s death also highlights his human rights record.
Raisi was a member of the “death committees” that were established in 1988 at the end Iran’s war with Iraq. These commissions handed out death sentences to political prisoners, militants, and others. According to international rights groups, up to 5,000 people have been executed.
Raisi defended his actions at a press conference, saying he is “proud to be a defender for human rights as well as the security and comfort of people wherever I am.”
The Center for Human Rights in Iran in New York, for example, has described Raisi as a president who “has seen a shocking escalation in state repression, and violence against peaceful dissidents in Iran.”
Hadi Ghaemi is the executive director of the center. “Raisi presided over a country that was suffocated and ruled by a government that feared its people,” he said. “He was only one boot on the throat of the Iranians; others could easily replace him.”
In 2022, after the death of Mahsa Almini, a woman detained for her loose hijab or headscarf (which was allegedly not tied properly), there were mass protests across the country.
More than 500 people were killed and 22,000 detained during the months-long crackdown on security that followed these demonstrations.
