Numerous Arab countries expressed their condolences following the death of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a helicopter crash.
Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, writing on X, offered his sincere condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Also Egypt and Jordan had expressed solidarity with Iranians.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said his deepest condolences go out to the brothers, leadership, government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the death of brother President Ebrahim Raisi.
Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Iran, expressed his condolences for this painful incident and the resulting great loss.
The government in Baghdad also expressed its sympathy.
Lebanon, for its part, announced a three-day mourning period.
Words of sadness also came from Iranian-financed and backed militias in the region.
Hezbollah in Lebanon said Raisi was a great supporter and a staunch advocate of our causes, especially in Jerusalem and in Palestine.
Similar words came from the Houthis in Yemen.
Raisi’s death was not only a loss for Iran, but for the entire Islamic nation, Palestine and Gaza, said a spokesman on X.
Iran maintains its military influence in the region primarily through the support of militias or political movements.
Syria’s government is directly allied with Iran.
Hezbollah and the Houthis form part of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” that Iran has set up against arch-enemy Israel.
Hamas mourns Iranian president, others
The Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas has expressed sadness over the helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president and his foreign minister and others.
The movement said in a statement on Monday that “we express our shared feelings of sadness and pain with the brotherly Iranian people, and our complete solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Hamas praised what it described as “honourable positions in support of our Palestinian cause, and the support of the legitimate struggle of our people against the Zionist entity.”
It commended Iran’s political and diplomatic efforts “to stop the Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Iran is a main supporter of Hamas. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash at age 63.
The country’s foreign minister and seven others also died after the crash in a remote,
mountainous area of Iran’s northwest.