Members of the United Nations Security Council held a moment of silence for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
The Russian, Chinese, and Algerian UN missions requested the moment of silence be held during a Security Council session on the prevention of an arms race in outer space and outer space security.
Mozambique Ambassador Pedro Comissario Afonso, who holds the rotating council presidency this month, asked the council members to stand for the moment of silence for Raisi and the others who died in the plane crash.
US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood was one of the officials who stood for the moment of silence.
Raisi was known as the “butcher of Tehran” for his role in the execution of thousands of Iranian protesters in the 1980s. His tenure as President was marked by further protests against the oppressive Iranian regime following the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died in police custody in 2022 after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly.
At least 500 protesters were killed as Iranian authorities suppressed the protests. Tens of thousands of protesters were arrested.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Raisi was involved in the planning of the October 7 massacre, the largest massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The massacre was carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization, an Iranian proxy group, and resulted in the murder of over 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 250 hostages who were taken to Gaza.
The US imposed sanctions on Raisi in 2019 for human rights violations, including for the executions he oversaw in the 1980s.