The U.N. flag is lowered to half-mast at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City to honor Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president who died in a helicopter crash on May 19, 2024. At right is Amir Saeid Iravani, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, May 21, 2024. Cphoto courtesy of Mark Garten/U.N. Photo. | Mark Garten/U.N. Photo
The day after critics slammed the United Nations for holding a moment of silence for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, May 19, the global body lowered flags to half-mast to honor the leader known by many as the “Butcher of Tehran.”
“The United Nations has completely gone off the deep end. Lowering the U.N. flag to half mast in tribute of Iranian President Raisi, a.k.a The Butcher of Tehran,” wrote the Israeli diplomat Yaki Lopez, a staffer in the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry’s digital diplomacy bureau.
“Raisi is personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranians, as well as for attacks on Israel,” Lopez added. “What a disgrace.”
Yaari Cohen, another staffer at the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry, wrote that readers might find themselves asking why the United Nations lowered its flag to half-mast at its headquarters in New York City.
“’As a mark of respect for the passing of His Excellency Mr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a.k.a. ‘The Butcher of Tehran,’” Cohen wrote. “The U.N. also put out a statement saying ‘All offices and duty stations are encouraged to lower their flags on this occasion.’”
“Defund the United Nations,” wrote the Canadian politician Goldie Ghamari.
“The corrupt U.N. is flying its flag at half-mast because the Butcher of Tehran, Raisi, is dead,” wrote Ghamari, who is Iranian and comes from a Muslim background. “This anti-Iranian racist institution has lost the plot. Canadian taxpayer dollars are wasted promoting Islamo-fascist terrorists. Shame!”
