New York, May 21: Israel lashed out at the members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the UN’s nuclear watchdog for honouring the late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash a day earlier.
Notably, members of the UNSC on Monday observed a minute of silence in memory of Raisi and the other Iranian officials in his helicopter, including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Mozambique Ambassador Pedro Comissario Afonso, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency, asked members to stand up and remain silent “in remembrance of the loss of life in a crash of the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi” and his team.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan lashed out at the Security Council while lamenting what he described as the forum’s inadequate response to the crisis of over 100 Israeli hostages held captive by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. He called the gesture a "disgrace".
“You read correctly, the UN Security Council today held a moment’s silence in memory of the mass murdering Iranian president Raisi,” Erdan said in a video statement. "This body, which makes no effort to free our hostages, tipped their heads today to a man who was responsible for the deaths of thousands in Iran, in Israel, and around the world," he added.
“What’s next? A minute of silence on the anniversary of Hitler’s death?” Erdan asked, charging that the UN Security Council has become “a danger to world peace.”
Ebrahim Raisi, the hardline President of Iran and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and seven others in the were killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border.