{"id":319679,"date":"2024-05-21T06:47:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T05:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=319679"},"modified":"2024-05-21T21:20:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T20:20:03","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-may-21-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-may-21-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 May 21, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

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THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h2>\n

UPDATE: 9:00 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

Iranians Attend Raisi’s Funeral Procession While Others Hopeful for New Future<\/h3>\n

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Iranians are attending the funeral procession of President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday following his death in a helicopter crash, while others, such as the National Council of Resistance of Iran, are hopeful that his demise will be a blow to the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n

The funeral procession is traveling across the country, starting in Tabriz, the largest city near the crash site in western Iran, before going through Qom, Tehran and Birjand before finally stopping\u00a0in Raisi’s birthplace of Mashhad, where he is expected to be buried Thursday at the Imam Reza Shrine, according to\u00a0Time<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

IRNA<\/a>, an Iranian-state media outlet, reported that in Qom, people “have been in the streets for hours before the arrival of the body of the martyrs with tears in their eyes and hearts full of sighs and regrets,” as translated. The outlet did not state what the people may have been regretting.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 9:00 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

Pahlavi Is Iran’s Version Of ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’<\/h3>\n

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The antics of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed and detested Shah of Iran, remind me of a line from the poem “The Man Who Wasn’t There” by the American Hugh Mearns:\u00a0“Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again today. I wish, I wish he’d go away”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The poem seems to perfectly encapsulate the way Pahlavi, the man who would be king, suddenly appears out of nowhere each time there is a crisis in Iran. After decades of silence, Pahlavi set off on a whirlwind international tour following the nationwide uprising in Iran in 2022-23.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 12:00 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

Raisi Is Dead, Who Is in Charge Now in Iran? Activist Shahed Sholeh: “He Was The Butcher of Tehran, The People Rejoice And Are No Longer Afraid”<\/h3>\n

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President Raisi is dead, who is in charge now in Iran and what will happen? These are the questions that have been assailed by the Iranian population and the entire world since yesterday, May 19, 2024, following the helicopter crash that caused the death of the President, his staff and\u00a0Iran’s Foreign Minister,\u00a0Hossein Amirabdollahian.<\/p>\n

The international community, with a worried look, is waiting to see what will be the new developments in the political situation in Iran and the consequences of the death of the head of state. The Iranian people rejoice and praise the death of the “butcher of Tehran”, while extremist factions, linked to the regime, mourn a leader.<\/p>\n

Who will be the new president? Will Iran be increasingly subject to the control of the Supreme Leader? Raisi was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s right-hand man: what will be the regime’s next move? Tag24 discussed the issue with activist Shahed Sholeh, spokesperson for the\u00a0Association of Democratic Iranian Women in Italy\u00a0(ADDI) and a member of the Iranian Resistance.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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UPDATE: 9:00 AM<\/span><\/p>\n

The Death of Ebrahim Raisi: A Turning Point for Iran\u2019s Political Landscape<\/h3>\n

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On Sunday 19 May 2024, President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir Hossein Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran. The loss of Raisi represents a significant blow to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and will destabilise the regime. Raisi\u2019s death occurs at a time when the Iranian regime is already struggling with numerous internal and external crises, further exacerbating its vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

Raisi\u2019s notoriety stems from his involvement in the\u00a01988 massacre of political prisoners<\/a>, a dark chapter in Iran\u2019s history. In the summer of 1988, a fatwa by then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini led to the execution of 30,000 political prisoners, most affiliated with the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK\/PMOI). Raisi was part of the four-member Death Commission responsible for these executions. Raisi was known as the \u2018Butcher of Tehran\u2019. Professor Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, had repeatedly called for investigations into Raisi\u2019s crimes, urging justice for the victims.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 7:30 AM<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Deceased Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Was Known as \u2018The Butcher of Tehran\u2019<\/h3>\n

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The\u00a0death<\/a>\u00a0of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the 19th<\/sup> of May in a helicopter crash in northern Iran sparked an outpour of condolences on the one hand and celebrations on the other. The 63-year-old Islamist hardliner, also dubbed the \u201cButcher of Tehran\u201d, was seen as a potential successor to Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, his death has added to the ongoing tumult in the Middle East. Last month, Iran, under his presidency, launched unprecedented drone and missile strikes against Israel in what Iran called \u201cretaliatory\u201d action after Israel allegedly attacked the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.<\/p>\n

Iran consented to a ceasefire imposed by the UN in July 1988 to put an end to the eight-year conflict with Iraq. Soon after, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who was then the supreme leader, issued a fatwa directing the execution of political prisoners who were already serving their sentences. They were brought before four-person inquisition panels\u2014dubbed \u201cDeath Commission\u201d by the prisoners\u2014for questioning, and the sessions lasted just a few minutes. The targeted persons mostly included those associated with the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Iran \u2018To Rush for NUKES And Purge Dissenters in Chaotic Aftermath of Chopper Crash\u2019 as Pro-Putin Tyrant Poised for Power<\/h3>\n

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THE SUDDEN death of Iranian president\u00a0Ebrahim Raisi<\/strong> will “absolutely” lead to an increase in executions of dissenters, experts have warned.\u00a0Iran’s supreme leader\u00a0Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is also feared to be ramping up efforts<\/a>\u00a0to get his hands on a nuclear bomb.<\/p>\n

Hossein Abedini, the deputy representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the UK, warned Khamenei is likely to go to extreme measures to maintain control of his country – as\u00a0anti-regime Iranians launch fireworks and dance in celebration of Raisi’s demise<\/a>.\u00a0Mr Abedini told The Sun: “To stay in\u00a0power<\/span>, Khamenei will absolutely increase atrocities and execution of its own people to contain the dissent inside the country.<\/p>\n

“It will also intensify its terrorist activities in the Middle East through IRGC, Hezbollah and the Houthis.”<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Victims of Iran\u2019s President \u2018Butcher of Tehran\u2019 Speak of \u2018Relief\u2019 After Helicopter Crash<\/h3>\n

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A former political prisoner in\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0who came face-to-face with the Butcher of Tehran\u00a0Ebrahim Raisi<\/a> before his death in a helicopter incident has opened up about the \u2018relief\u2019 he felt.\u00a0Funeral processions<\/a> for Iranian President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will begin on Tuesday next week in the northwestern city of Tabriz. While the Islamic Republic\u2019s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, announced five days of public mourning,\u00a0victims have been celebrating<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the age of 17, he was arrested in Tehran for supporting People\u2019s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), a political-militant organisation that advocates for overthrowing the government, and was sentenced to a suspended execution. His sentence was later reduced to seven years in Gohardasht Prison. Iran\u2019s then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini\u00a0issued a formal fatwa \u2013 a religious decree \u2013 ordering that all Mujahedin supporters be executed unless they repent.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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World Reactions to Death of Iran’s President Raisi<\/h3>\n

Agence France Presse (AFP) –\u00a0Iran’s powerful allies on Monday mourned the death of its president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter crash, while regional militants hailed him as a supporter of the Palestinian cause. The United States said the deceased ultraconservative leader “had blood on his hands”, Russia and China called him a “friend”, and Iran’s arch-foe Israel has yet to react publicly. Here is a round-up of key reactions:<\/p>\n

Exiled opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said Raisi’s death was “a monumental and irreparable strategic blow to the mullahs’ supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the entire regime, notorious for its executions and massacres”, in a statement from the group’s leader, Maryam Rajavi.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Biden White House Stays Unusually Quiet on The Death Of Iranian President And Foreign Minister<\/h3>\n

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Proponents of a hardline strategy against\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0from around Washington celebrated on Monday as news of the apparent death of the country\u2019s president,\u00a0Ebrahim Raisi<\/a>, and the foreign minister came in overnight.<\/p>\n

In a statement released under the name of State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the US government expressed \u201cofficial condolences\u201d over the deaths of Mr Raisi and his delegation. That message was condemned by critics of Raisi\u2019s brutal record.<\/p>\n

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI, said Monday in a statement: \u201cThe death of Ebrahim Raisi, the clerical regime\u2019s President represents a monumental and irreparable strategic blow to the mullahs\u2019 Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the entire regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile honoring the 30,000 PMOI members and other combatants who were massacred\u2014and forever remembered by the Iranian people, I emphasize that the pursuit of justice will persist until the regime\u2019s overthrow,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Arvin Ghahremani, A 20-Year-Old Iranian Jewish Citizen, Is Facing Imminent Execution<\/h3>\n

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Arvin Ghahremani (Nathaniel), a 20-year-old Iranian Jewish citizen, is currently at risk of execution. The Iranian judiciary had intended to carry out the execution of this prisoner on Saturday, May 18, 2024, but it was postponed until Monday, May 20, 2024.<\/p>\n

Based on the reports received by Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM), Arvin Ghahremani committed \u201cintentional murder\u201d two years ago at the age of 18 during a street altercation, causing the death of a Muslim citizen. He was arrested at that time and subsequently sentenced to death by the Iranian judiciary.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Iranians Celebrate Following Death of President Raisi in Helicopter Crash<\/h3>\n

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were killed in a tragic helicopter crash in the mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border. State media and officials confirmed the incident on Monday, stating that the helicopter, a U.S.-made Bell 212, went down on Sunday during blizzard conditions. The charred wreckage was discovered early Monday after an overnight search.<\/p>\n

Raisi, 63, was a significant political figure in Iran, having been elected president in 2021. He was a hardliner and a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi played a significant role in the 1988 executions of 30,000 Iranian political prisoners. During his tenure as head of the judiciary and presidency, he led a repressive campaign, turning the presidential system into a direct tool of the security and intelligence agencies. He was a member of the \u201cdeath commission\u201d that decided their fate Raisi was widely seen as a potential successor to Khamenei, holding substantial influence over the country\u2019s direction in both domestic and international arenas.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Cologne, Germany\u2014May 18, 2024: MEK Supporters Rally in Solidarity With the Iranian Revolution<\/h3>\n
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Cologne, Germany\u2014May 18, 2024: MEK Supporters Rally in Solidarity With the Iranian Revolution.<\/div><\/div>
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