Helicopter Crash of the President of the Islamic Republic; Joy of Opposition Amidst the Grief of Supporters of the Regime

The news of the crash of the helicopter carrying the President of the thirteenth government of the Islamic Republic and its Foreign Minister on Sunday evening, May 30, divided Iranians into two groups: "joyful opponents of the regime" and "sad supporters of the system." In this context, posts shared on social media by families of victims seeking justice, who have lost loved ones due to various actions of the Islamic Republic in recent years, had a different tone. Shahin Moghadam, who lost his family in the incident of the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 by the Revolutionary Guards' missiles, wrote in a post while no definitive news about the status of the helicopter's occupants had been released: "If they are alive, they can understand the cold of the weather, the people at the moment of the missile-struck plane's fall, the blindness, the darkness and homelessness, hunger, and the wait for death at the time of the call to prayer." Other families of victims from the nationwide protests of 2022 also reposted a video in which Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister, denied the killing and blinding of protesters in Iran, writing: "The earth is very round." Leila Mahdavi, the mother of Siavash Mahmoudi, a teenager killed in the 2022 protests, made an implicit reference to a fortune-telling by Ibrahim Raisi for the Turkish President in an Instagram story, writing: "We consulted the fortune-teller; enjoy, for the oppressor does not find the way home." Outside of Iran, some Iranians in cities like Toronto and London celebrated with gatherings in city centers or in front of Islamic Republic embassies, playing music and distributing sweets. Conversely, government supporters prayed for the health of their president in religious centers and some streets, while also clashing with opponents of the Islamic Republic and joyful Iranians on social media. Meanwhile, beyond Iran's geographical and linguistic borders, Republican Senator Richard Scott wrote on social media platform X, "If Raisi is dead, the world is now a safer and better place." Morgan Ortagus, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department during Donald Trump's presidency, reacted to the air incident involving Ibrahim Raisi, stating that his potential death would not change the Islamic Republic's policies, as everything is under the control of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the regime. Janusz Lenarczyk, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, announced on Sunday that the EU had activated Copernicus satellite services to assist the Islamic Republic in locating the helicopter carrying Ibrahim Raisi. Maryam Kalaran, the daughter of dual-national Nahid Taghavi imprisoned in Iran, criticized the EU for its indifference to the suppression of protests and human rights violations in Iran in response to the announcement of EU assistance to the Islamic Republic, writing on social media: "Where was your solidarity when our people were being killed in the streets? Where were you when thousands of innocents were executed? Where was your solidarity when European citizens were taken hostage and are still detained?" Hannah Neumann, a member of the European Parliament, criticized the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management for not paying attention to the situation of human rights defenders and victims of the Iranian regime, calling for more support for civil society and human rights organizations as part of the EU's solidarity with the people of Iran. Ibrahim Raisi traveled on Sunday to inaugurate a dam on the border between Iran and Azerbaijan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and the helicopter carrying him crashed on the way back to Iran towards Tabriz. Search operations for the helicopter and its occupants continue despite the passage of hours and assistance from countries such as Turkey and Syria. The way the Islamic Republic communicated about the incident regarding Raisi's helicopter, according to Hassan Hashemian, has led to fireworks from citizens in Tehran's District 19 after the incident involving Ibrahim Raisi's helicopter. People are waiting for final news about Raisi's status; citizens in Saqqez are celebrating and illuminating the night. One citizen noted that following the announcement of the incident involving Raisi, the number of security forces in the city has increased. The UN Truth-Finding Committee stated that Raisi's death should not lead to forgetting human rights violations in Iran. The "hard landing" incident of the helicopter carrying senior officials of the Islamic Republic; Reuters quoted an informed source: Raisi's life is in danger. Global reactions to the air incident involving the helicopter carrying Ibrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation are ongoing.