Claim of '12 Million Farewell'; Criticism of Raisi's Memorial at the UN: Gaddafi and Saddam Didn't Have Such Ceremonies Either

While numerous images of joy, dancing, fireworks, and distribution of sweets in the streets in response to the death of Ebrahim Raisi have been shared by citizens on social media, government officials have claimed a large turnout at the funeral of the Islamic Republic's president and his companions. Based on a similar image published with similar texts in government media on Monday, June 7, a mural in Tehran's Enghelab Square has been installed with the caption '12 Million Farewell,' claiming that millions attended the funeral of Raisi and his companions. While government media have referred to this event as a 'historic funeral,' the published image shows a crowd of only a few thousand, with no evidence of a 'million-strong' turnout. On the other hand, according to the Iran Watch website on Monday, Najm al-Din Tabasi, a cleric residing in Qom, in response to the reactions and joy of the people following Ebrahim Raisi's death, stated that 'propaganda against the clergy and agitation against the revolution in cyberspace is very intense.' Tabasi added without clear explanation that the death of Raisi and his companions 'foiled many plots.' This cleric also advised 'enemies' to 'die of grief and bang their heads against the wall.' The terms 'enemy' and 'enemies' are commonly used in the political language of Islamic Republic officials to refer to the United States, Israel, Western countries, and Iranian opponents of the regime. Meanwhile, the joy of Iranians inside and outside the country over Ebrahim Raisi's death continues. On Tuesday, June 8, Prince Reza Pahlavi emphasized in a part of his interview with CBC Canada that 'the people of Iran celebrated the death of one of the most sinister figures of this regime, responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranians, with fireworks and distribution of sweets.' He stressed that 'a free and democratic Iran seeks only peace and good relations with its neighbors, whether Israel or the Arabs,' and emphasized the necessity of 'listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps among terrorist organizations,' stating that 'our struggle as Iranians will continue until the day we free ourselves from this regime,' adding that including the IRGC in the list of terrorist groups 'will both exert additional pressure on the regime and send a strong message to the people of Iran that practical action has been taken in support of them.' Additionally, some human rights advocates and lawyers have reacted to the holding of 'Ebrahim Raisi Memorial Day' at the UN, deeming it contrary to the interests of the Iranian people. Saeed Dehghan, a human rights lawyer, described the ceremony scheduled to take place on Thursday at the UN as 'rubbing salt in the wounds of Iranians' and considered it 'an insult to the position of the UN.' This lawyer emphasized in a post on social media that this action 'is not defensible even based on UN protocols,' as 'such ceremonies were not held for Gaddafi and Saddam either.' Previously, Narges Mohammadi, a political prisoner in Iran and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, regarded this action as 'a tribute to executions and mass killings against the people of Iran.' Ebrahim Raisi, the president of the thirteenth government of the Islamic Republic, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, his foreign minister, the Friday prayer leader of Tabriz, and several others were killed after the helicopter carrying them crashed in the Dizmar forest in East Azerbaijan Province on May 30.