Criticism of the UN Security Council for observing a minute of silence for the “butcher of Tehran” Ebrahim Raisi

This Monday, during the UN Security Council, a controversial minute of silence was held in honor of the late president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, known as “the butcher of Tehran” for his participation in the repression of dissent in his country.

During this moment, Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, was seen participating in the questioned minute of silence at the request of Russia, China and Algeria.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said the moment of silence in memory of Raisi’s “mass murdering” was a “disgrace.”

“What is next for the Security Council? A moment of silence on the anniversary of Hitler’s death?” Erdan asked. “The Security Council has simply become a danger to world peace.”

In the United States, multiple voices, including journalists such as Kassy Dillon of the Daily Wire, criticized Ambassador Wood for joining the minute of silence.

During a press conference, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller referred to the criticism of the participation of the United States in the minute of silence in honor of Raisi. Regarding the criticism

First, Miller stated that the United States has made clear that “Ebrahim Raisi was a brutal participant in the repression of the Iranian people for nearly four decades,” recalling the former Iranian president’s involvement in “numerous horrific human rights abuses, including playing a key role in the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.”

“Some of the worst human rights abuses occurred during his tenure as president, especially the human rights abuses against the women and girls of Iran,” continued Miller, who, however, qualified his criticism: “That said, we regret any loss of life. We don’t want to see anyone die in a helicopter crash. But that doesn’t change the reality of his record, both as a judge and as the president of Iran.”

According to Fox News Digital, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iranian security expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), questioned both the UN and the State Department for paying tribute to a politician with a controversial record like Raisi.

“Rather than use this time to push for moral clarity, this muddled approach towards Raisi’s bloody past mistakenly prioritizes diplomatic niceties over reality,” Taleblu said.

However, a senior advisor to Ambassador Wood told Fox News that the minutes of silence at the UN are protocol diplomatic norms that do not represent a tribute to Raisi by the US diplomatic delegation.

But despite this senior advisor’s justification, the Biden administration was already being criticized by various users on X (Twitter) for showing their condolences for Raisi’s death.