Iran sought “assistance” from the United States in the wake of the death of its president in a helicopter crash, a rare request that was ultimately turned down.
Iran’s late president, Ebrahim Raisi, died in the May 19 crash near the Iran-Azerbaijan border. Iranian state media reported that seven other people aboard the Bell 212 helicopter—including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian—also were killed.
The cause of the crash remains unclear.
“We were asked for assistance by the Iranian Government,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing on May 20.
“We did make clear to them that we would offer assistance, as we would do in response to any request by a foreign government in this sort of situation. And ultimately, we were not able to provide that assistance.”
Pressed for more information about the request, Mr. Miller declined.
“I’m not going to get into the details, but we were asked by the Iranian Government for assistance,” he reiterated.
“We said that we would be willing to assist. It’s something that we would do with respect to any government in this situation. Ultimately, largely for logistical reasons, we weren’t able to provide that assistance.”
A fundamentalist Muslim cleric, Mr. Raisi was elected president in August 2021, with a then-record low turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
His presidency was marked by a growing escalation in the Islamic Republic’s repression of dissenters advocating for fundamental freedoms, including an end to compulsory hijab for women.
Iranian dissidents called Mr. Raisi the “Butcher of Tehran” for his role in mass executions of political prisoners in 1988. At 27, he was the youngest of four members named to the so-called “death committee” in Tehran, which summarily signed off on the execution of thousands held in prison.
Despite his controversial legacy, the United Nations lowered the flag at its New York headquarters to half-mast as “a mark of respect” for his death.
“All offices and duty stations are encouraged to lower their flags on this occasion,” the international organization said in a notice.
The State Department also released a brief statement upon news of Raisi’s death, extending “official condolences” for those killed in the helicopter crash.
“As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the department said.
The lukewarm statement drew criticism from some Republican members of Congress, who took issue with the failure to use the opportunity to denounce Tehran’s many atrocities.
“Ebrahim Raisi was known as the ‘Butcher of Tehran’ for a REASON. He was an evil tyrant who persecuted & killed thousands of innocent Iranians & was a protégé of the Ayatollah himself,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) wrote on X on May 21.
“The United States SHOULD NOT be sending condolences. The world is a safer place WITHOUT him.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) argued that Mr. Raisi, whose regime backed “terrorist proxies around the world that have killed American soldiers,” did not deserve a note of sympathy from America at all.
“It is unacceptable, unnecessary, and outrageous for the State Department to issue condolences for the death of an enemy as our soldiers ... fought off Iranian-backed drone and missile attacks for months while they were deployed to the Middle East,” she wrote on X.
In defense of the move, Mr. Miller said the note simply recognizes “that people have families,” and “in no way at all” changes the fundamental U.S. stance toward Iran.
He described Mr. Raisi as “a brutal participant in the repression of the Iranian people for nearly four decades” who was “involved in numerous horrific human rights abuses, including playing a key role in the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.
“Some of the worst human rights abuses occurred during his tenure as president, especially the human rights abuses against the women and girls of Iran,” he told reporters. “That said, we regret any loss of life.”
“We don’t want to see anyone die in a helicopter crash. But that doesn’t change the reality of his record both as a judge and as the president of Iran and the fact that he has blood on his hands.”
