U.S. boycotts United Nations tribute to late Iranian President Raisi

The U.S. boycotted the United Nations tribute to Iran’s late U.S. President Ebrahim Raisi, dubbed ‘the Butcher of Tehran’ Thursday. At a sparsely attended U.N. General Assembly meeting, delegates from around the world stood for a minute to pay their respects to the leader who was killed in a recent helicopter crash.

Several members from Iran were in attendance and some U.N. leaders from around the world went over to express condolences to the Iranians.

Notably, no one from the U.S. appeared to attend the session in an act of protest against the leader who had a laundry list of well-documented human rights violations.

Raisi was widely expected to succeed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before he died in a helicopter crash in north Iran near the border with Azerbaijan.

The crash happened earlier this month on May 19. Paying tribute to deceased world leaders is a typical practice for the 193-member General Assembly when a head of state dies in office. Nate Evans, spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said ‘The United States will not attend today’s United Nations tribute event for President Raisi in any capacity.’

‘Raisi was involved in numerous, horrific human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killings of thousands of political prisoners in 1988,’ Evans said. ‘Some of the worst human rights abuses on record took place during his tenure.’ Other U.N. delegates gave speeches during the roughly 50 minute memorial meeting.

Raisi grew notoriety for sitting on a 1988 panel that oversaw the execution of hundreds of political prisoners. The panel was convened to sentence political dissidents after the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarked during the tribute that the late leader oversaw the country during turbulent times regionally and internationally. ‘The United Nations stands in solidarity with the Iranian people and in the quest for peace, development and fundamental freedoms,’ Guterres said.

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani also celebrated the late Raisi and others who died in the crash. ‘They were not just figures of authority, but also a symbol of hope, resilience and the enduring power of good governance and diplomacy,’ Iravani sad at the U.N. meeting.

‘We remain committed to upholding the principles of peace, security, justice and multilateralism that they tirelessly supported.’ An Iranian election for a new president is scheduled to take place on June 28.

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