UN Security Council observes minute of silence for Raisi

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Members of the UN Security Council, including the United States, observed a minute of silence on Monday in memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage who were killed in a helicopter crash.

Pedro Comissario Afonso, UN ambassador for Mozambique, which holds the rotating Council presidency in May, asked members to stand up and remain silent “in remembrance of the loss of life in a crash of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi” and his team.

The move was quickly criticised as a “disgrace” by Israel´s UN envoy Gilad Erdan. “You saw correctly. The UN Security Council dedicated a moment of silence in memory of the mass murdering president of Iran, Raisi. What a disgrace,” he said in a video message posted on X.

“The Security Council has become a threat to global peace and security,” added Erdan, who has been increasingly critical of the United Nations since Hamas´s October 7 attack on Israel.Meanwhile, the head of the EU and its foreign policy chief prompted outrage from some European politicians on Monday after expressing their “condolences” over the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi.

“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,” EU Council President Charles Michel said in a statement on X.