International Responses to Raisi’s Death: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Co-authored with Visiting Fellow Sarah Raviani

On Sunday, May 19, Islamic Republic President Ebrahim Raisi died, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a helicopter crash near the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan. This death has sparked a variety of responses around the world, ranging from teary-eyed condolences to celebrations. This piece aims to capture the spectrum of these responses from government officials, revealing the predispositions of several key actors towards the Islamic Republic.

The Good

• This section highlights the individuals and nations who seized upon Raisi's death to recognize his long-standing oppression of the Iranian people, express solidarity with the Iranian people's desire for regime change, or criticize international condolences extended to Raisi. Rather than legitimizing the regime on a world stage, these responses echo the hope for a democratic future in Iran.

• United States House of Representatives

  • Representative Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL26)

  • Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL19)

  • Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX24)

  • House Majority Whip, Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN06)

  • Representative Pat Fallon (R-TX04)

  • Representative Charles “Chuck” Fleischmann (R-TN03)

  • Speaker of the House, Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA04)

  • Representative Nick Langworthy (R-NY23)

  • Representative Brian Mast (R-FL21)

  • Representative Lisa McClain (R-MI09)

  • Representative Zach Nunn (R-IA03)

  • Representative Burgess Owens (R-UT04)

  • Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN08)

  • Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA14)

  • Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY24)

  • Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL06)

  • Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC02)

• United States Senate

  • Senator John Barrasso (R-WY)

  • Senator Ted Budd (R-NC)

  • Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)

  • Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)

  • Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

  • Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS)

  • Senate Minority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

  • Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)

  • Senator Rick Scott (R-FL)

  • Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)

  • Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK)

• United States - Former Senior Officials

  • Former Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley

  • Former Vice President Mike Pence

• European Parliament (EU)

  • Former Prime Minister of Belgium, MEP Guy Verhofstadt

  • Dutch MEP Michiel Hoogeveen

  • German MEP Hannah Neumann

  • Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers

• Latvia

  • Member of the Saeima (Parliament) of Latvia Rihard Kols

• Lithuania

  • Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis

• The Netherlands

  • Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands Geert Wilders

• United Kingdom

  • Security Minister of the UK Tom Tugendhat

The Bad

• This section highlights the individuals and nations who did not seize upon Raisi's death to recognize his key role in the long-standing oppression of the Iranian people or express solidarity with the Iranian people's desire for regime change, and instead chose to lend legitimacy to the Islamic Republic regime with some even praising Raisi. These responses legitimize and prop up the brutal regime in Iran.

• United States Senate

  • Senate Chaplain Rear Adm. (Ret.) Barry Black’s opening prayers

  • Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)

• Afghanistan

  • Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi

• Burundi

  • President of Burundi General Évariste Ndayishimiye

• China

  • President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping

• Georgia

  • Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili

• Hungary

  • Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán

• India

  • Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi

  • Minister of External Affairs of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

• Malaysia

  • Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim

• North Korea

  • Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un

• Russia

  • President of Russia Vladimir Putin

• South Africa

  • President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa

• Switzerland

  • Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis

• Tanzania

  • President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu

• World Health Organization (WHO)

  • Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

The Ugly

• This section highlights the actors whose responses to the death of Ebrahim Raisi were particularly disappointing or shameful, focusing on institutions which are meant to stand for the promotion of peace, protection of human rights, or international security, but nonetheless expressed condolences for the passing of Ebrahim Raisi.

• United States Department of State

  • Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller

• European Union (EU)

  • President of the European Council Charles Michel

  • High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell

• International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA)

  • Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

  • NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah

• United Nations (UN)

  • UN Flag lowered to half-mast as a “mark of respect” for the death of Ebrahim Raisi

  • President of the Security Council Ambassador Comissário Afonso

  • Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina J. Mohammed