On Sunday, May 19, the helicopter carrying the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, his foreign secretary, Hossein Amirabdollahian and a state governor and six other security men and officials of the Iranian government died on the hills of Azerbaijan province neighbouring the Republic of Azerbaijan when the Bells helicopter carrying them made a hard landing following a technical fault. There were two other helicopters in the president’s entourage. Those two landed safely after the crash. President Raisi was going to commission a hydroelectric dam that was to share power with the neighbouring republic of Azerbaijan.
The cause of the accident which is still being investigated was said to be due to inclement weather. From what the news media showed the world, the fog in the environment of the fatal accident was so thick that one could barely see.
The questions that have agitated sensible minds are why was the helicopter flying into the foggy weather in a hilly area where visibility was terribly low? What was the meteorological institution in Iran doing that it could not tell the pilot of the helicopter that it was unsafe to fly? Or was he told and he ignored the warning? The president’s security chief must have seen how bad the weather was and yet he allowed the pilot to fly the president of a major nation into a weather storm. The helicopter used appears to be a Bell helicopter purchased by the dethroned Shah of Iran Muhammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979 or earlier. Why was the president of the country using such an old helicopter? If this helicopter was refurbished, where did the parts come from because of the western sanctions on Iran would have made genuine parts difficult to purchase. Was the president of Iran so inconsequential that he would have been using an old helicopter? These are questions that the board of enquiry probing the cause of the crash must look into.
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The message of condolence by the Italian prime minister, Ms Georgia Meloni is very significant. She praised the Iranian regime for not spreading any rumours about possible foreign involvement in the accident and the US Secretary of Defence, General Lloyd Austin in a press conference, publicly stated that the outcome of the enquiry into the cause of the accident is being eagerly awaited. That is the way it should be because of the importance of Iran in the politics of the Middle East and what any irresponsible statement could have led to.
The Iranian regime has demonstrated political stability expected of the country that is a proud inheritor of Ancient Persian civilization that predated its western competitors. Iran is of course not a democracy in the mould of western democracy. President Raisi may not have been popular with the intelligentsia or the women of Iran. Nobody knows what the majority of its people want. But it is clear that all Iranians want to live in dignity unmolested and unharassed by the western powers especially the United States and Europe and their protégé Israel.
Iran takes its Islamic religion seriously especially the Shiite brand of it and it is prepared to defend it against foreign influence. This was the reason for the Islamic revolution against the Shah in 1979 because, whether rightly or wrongly, the supporters of Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini felt the Americans were calling the shots. It was not just the Islamic fundamentalists alone who were against western influence, even western educated Iranians embraced the fervour of nationalism and were also prepared to support the Khomeini revolution. They may of course be disappointed by the theocratic state that emerged out of the revolution but they are not prepared, it seems, to embrace a western driven anti-Islamic and anti-nationalist revolution.
The death of President Raisi is a national setback for the country. Outsiders accuse him of rigidity in his enforcement of conservative dressing and wearing the chador and covering the head by women and generally not permitting liberal democratic rights in the society and for not tolerating ethnic minorities like the Kurds in the Northwest. These are not necessarily Raisi’s policies but collective policies of the revolution and those around the Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who appears to wield absolute power.
Immediately the news of Raisi’s death broke, Ali Khamenei issued a statement that Raisi may be dead but the Iranian state remains and its government remained solid. He announced that the first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber becomes acting president. He also declared five days of mourning nationwide and that as the constitution of the republic requires a new election would hold on June 28 to elect a new president. Because of the age of the Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself – 85, people have started wondering what would happen if he were to die because he has no deputy leader apparently because the leader did not want one even though he himself was the great Mohammad Khomeini’s deputy. There is no doubt that when the time comes the Islamic republic would rise to the occasion. President Raisi was thought destined to be the leader but apparently this was not meant to be. In the Islamic world succession to power has not always been difficult. Immediate deputy or sons of the leaders have most of the time succeeded their fathers.
As an observer of the international scene, I had watched and read the messages of sympathy by world leaders to the people and government of Iran. Up till the time of my writing this, I have not seen any message from the United States president. If it is true, this is unfortunate. This can be because the two countries embassies in each other’s capitals have been closed since 1979. Even though the Swiss embassy represents American interest in Tehran, that section should have been mandated to issue an official statement of condolences on behalf of President Joe Biden and the American people. These things are done whether nations are friendly or not and this would have been an opportunity to reset relations between the two countries. States sometimes behave organically and Iran would have remembered American sympathy in future when America may need the support of Iran. One never knows? There are no permanent enemies or friends in politics among nations but permanent interests.
The statements of condolences from Russia was very warm and sincere, Iran supplies most of Russia’s drones in its fight in Ukraine and Putin’s statement made allusion to how President Raisi has facilitated warm and fraternal relations between Russia and Iran. Prime Minister Modi of India that gets substantial supply of India’s petroleum from Iran was no less effusive in expressing sorrow at the sad departure of President Raisi. President Xi Jinping of China who played significant role in reconciling Saudi Arabia and Iran expressed his sorrow as a genuine friend. Rishi Sunak of Britain and Ursula von Leyden the president of the European Union issued formal statements of regret at the death of Raisi.
Maduro of Venezuela praised Raisi to high heavens. As to be expected Saudi Arabia, Turkey which helped in locating the wreckage of the helicopter and all major Islamic nations like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia Indonesia and Iranian neighbours in the Gulf either out of fear or as a result of genuine love, sympathised with Iran for the loss of their president. Those countries and entities like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and the Palestinians were open in crying over their loss. Expression of sympathy by Israel would not have been seen as genuine but I would not be surprised if Israel were to offer sympathy to Iran because the religion of Judaism demands we mourn with mourners and rejoice with those rejoicing.
I am sure Nigeria has offered its condolences and if possible we should be represented at the final obsequies on Thursday, June 24.
A final note on the Iranian tragedy. It was reported that our presidential plane broke down during an official visit of our president to the Netherlands. This to me is a national humiliation and should not be allowed to repeat itself. If we must show the flag we must do it properly. The presidential plane is not personal to any president and if the one we have is not airworthy we must buy another one.
