On 19 May 2024, the helicopter with President Ebrahim Raisi of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and the governer of the East Azerbaijan Province crashed into a mountain near the Azerbaijan-Iran border. All were killed. They had attended a ceremony to mark the start of a joint Azerbaijan-Iran dam project.
President Raisi, a Shiite Muslim cleric was elected President in 2021. He was considered close to the leader of the country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and seen as a possible successer to Khamenei who is 84 and has suffered health problems in recent years. The first Vice President Mohammad Mokhher now holds the post of President. Elections are to be held within 50 days according to the constitution. Raisi was a "hardliner" and repression of unacceptable ideas, especially on the part of women, continued in full force during his years as President.
The death of Raisi adds to the strong tensions in the Middle East: the Israel-Palestine armed conflict, tensions in Iraq-Kurdistan-Turkey, conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Libya. Iran is one of the agents in all these tensions which have a potential to grow more violent and to spread. Thus there is a need for increased efforts for conflict resolution and the start of negotiations in good faith. So far, there have been few signs of such negotiations on the part of government representatives.
Discussions in the United Nations Security Council are often blocked by the veto and by fundamental differences of views among governments. There is a possible role for nongovernmental efforts, but there is no forum to present such NGO proposals for the moment. There is a need to use the media to overcome fear, mistrust and hatred and thus to support democratic decision making and pluralistic societies.
René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens
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