Iran President Had ‘Lot Of Blood On His Hands’ — White House

Despite Washington expressing sympathy for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, the White House stated on Monday that Raisi had "a lot of blood on his hands."

Spokesman for the National Security Council John Kirby told reporters, "This was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands," blaming Raisi for "atrocious" human rights violations in Iran and for having backed regional proxies like Hamas.

But Kirby said, "We certainly regret the loss of life in general and offered official condolences as appropriate, as in any other case."

In the meantime, Iran declared on Monday that it will hold presidential elections on June 28, according to state media, in response to Raisi and his group's deaths in a helicopter accident.

According to official television, "the heads of the judiciary, government, and parliament approved the election calendar." "It was decided that the 14th presidential election will take place on June 28 in accordance with the initial agreement of the Guardian Council."

After Raisi's helicopter crashed into a foggy mountain, causing a period of political unrest in the Islamic republic, Iranians started to mourn him.

The plane crashed on Sunday in a remote region of northwest Iran, killing Raisi, 63, his foreign minister, and seven other people. The wreckage wasn't discovered until Monday morning.

Since 2021, when the ultraconservative Raisi took power, Iran has experienced tumultuous events such as widespread rallies, an intensifying economic crisis brought on by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch-enemy Israel.
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced a five-day mourning period and announced that vice president Muhammad Mokhber, 68, will take over as acting president until elections are held in fifty days.

Raisi had been predicted by many observers to succeed 85-year-old Khamenei, who declared, "The Iranian nation has lost a sincere and valuable servant."

At Valiasr Square in central Tehran, thousands Iranian mourners gathered to offer their condolences to Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Tuesday's funeral ceremonies for them and the other victims—three crew members, two bodyguards, an imam, and a regional governor—were scheduled to begin in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province. After that, Raisi's body was to be transported to Tehran.

There will be a funeral march in the capital on Wednesday morning.
Mohammad Bagheri, the commander of Iran's armed forces, gave the order for "a high-ranking committee to launch an investigation into the cause of the president's helicopter crash."