Matthew Miller
On Monday, the United States stated that arch-enemy Iran sought assistance in the aftermath of a helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi, while Washington offered condolences despite claiming he had blood on his hands.
According to the US State Department, Iran, which has had no diplomatic relations with Washington since the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution, contacted the United States after Raisi’s helicopter crashed in foggy weather Sunday.
Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, stated, “We were asked by the Iranian government for assistance”.
“We said that we would be willing to assist — something that we would do with respect to any government in this situation”, Miller continued.
“Ultimately, largely for logistical reasons, we were unable to provide that assistance”, Miller added.
Miller declined to go into detail about how the two countries communicated. However, he indicated Iran was seeking help in the immediate aftermath to locate the helicopter of Raisi, who died along with his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and seven others.
The incident occurred after the United States and Iran reportedly held their most recent talks in Oman aimed at increasing stability following open hostilities between Iran and Israel.
The State Department issued a statement offering official condolences over the deaths.
“As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms”, the statement reads.
President Joe Biden’s administration described condolences as standard and did not show support for Raisi, who as a judge presided over mass executions of political prisoners and whose presidency saw police break down on major rallies organized by women.
“This was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands”, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, blaming Raisi for atrocious abuses.
Kirby went on to say, “As in any other case, we certainly regret in general the loss of life and offered official condolences as appropriate”.
In the past, the United States has often, but not always, expressed condolences to leaders it opposes, Joseph Stalin, Kim Il Sung, and Fidel Castro.
However, the condolence message, coupled with similar remarks from European nations, brought anger to some opponents of the clerical state who saw Raisi’s death as an opportunity to celebrate.
Masih Alinejad, a women’s rights activist who US officials claim was the target of a Tehran-engineered assassination plot in New York, tweeted, “Your condolences only pour salt on the wounds of the oppressed”.
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