International
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, who oversaw mass executions, dies in helicopter crash
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
From LifeSiteNews
By Matt Lamb
Ebrahim Raisi, a Muslim cleric expected to eventually replace Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, oversaw the execution of thousands of dissidents and supported Hamas in its terrorist attacks.
The president of Iran died in a helicopter crash Sunday evening.
Ebrahim Raisi was a Muslim cleric who claimed his family descended from Muhammed, the founder of Islam. He died near Azerbaijan along with other officials who were visiting the country for an event celebrating a new dam, according to Reuters.
Raisi was a Shiite leader who served on the 1988 commission that sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death. He was expected to eventually replace the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Human rights organizations estimate that between 4,500 and 5,000 men, women and children were killed in the summer of 1988 in prisons across Iran,” according to Amnesty International’s summary. “The pattern of political executions changed dramatically from piecemeal reports of executions to a massive wave of killings that took place over several months.”
“The true number of dead, however, is still unknown as the executions were carried out in secret. In fact, many relatives were never told about the killings or where their loved ones had been buried,” Amnesty International reported.
In September 2022, his government killed hundreds of protesters against clerical rule, according to the BBC.
“The ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement was sparked the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who had been detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab ‘improperly,” the BBC reported. “Authorities denied she was mistreated, but a UN fact-finding mission found she was ‘subjected to physical violence that led to her death.’”
Raisi oversaw Iran’s further enrichment of uranium and attacks on Israel, according to the Associated Press. He was “a hard-line protégé of the country’s supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels and launched a major drone-and-missile attack on Israel,” according to the AP’s article on his death.
“An Israeli official told Reuters it was not involved in the crash,” the news outlet reported. “It wasn’t us.”
Iran also allied itself with Russia and supplied it with weapons to fight Ukraine; Putin called Raisi “a true friend of Russia,” in his condolence message, according to Reuters.
The terrorist group Hamas also mourned Raisi’s death and that of Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who also died in the plane crash. Hamas thanked them for supporting them in the terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war.
MxM News
Quick Hit:
Hamas paraded the caskets of Israeli hostages, including what they claimed were the bodies of a mother and two young children, through the streets of Gaza before handing them over to the Red Cross. Videos show crowds cheering as armed terrorists carried the coffins as part of a prisoner exchange with Israel.
Key Details:
- Videos from Khan Younis, Gaza, show Hamas and other terrorists parading four caskets, including those of two young children, before handing them to the Red Cross.
- Crowds cheered as the terrorists, armed and unmasked, carried the coffins, with celebratory music playing in the background.
- The deceased were identified as members of the Bibas family, including the youngest hostages from the October 7 attack.
ANIMALS: Hamas paraded the bodies of murdered Israeli babies in coffins while blasting loud music during their celebration today when they handed the bodies over to the Red Cross. pic.twitter.com/CoTV5Rzep7
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 20, 2025
Diving Deeper:
During a ceremony in Khan Younis, Gaza, Hamas paraded the caskets of Israeli hostages through the streets, including what they claimed were the bodies of a mother and her two small children. The display occurred before the remains were handed over to the Red Cross as part of a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. Crowds of Gazans were seen cheering and celebrating as the coffins were carried by armed terrorists.
Videos from the event show masked militants loading a casket into a Red Cross aid truck, while another militant, adorned with symbols of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, filmed the procession. Another video shows adults and children waving and celebrating as Hamas fighters, armed and in trucks, paraded through the streets. Reuters footage also captured members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) helping carry a casket, highlighting the involvement of multiple terrorist factions in the display.
Hamas presented the bodies as those of the Bibas family, who were captured during the October 7 attack. The children, aged four years and less than one year, were among the youngest hostages taken during the brutal assault that triggered the ongoing 15-month conflict. The fourth body was identified as 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz, according to Jewish News Syndicate. Hamas has repeatedly blamed the deaths on Israeli airstrikes, though no evidence was provided to support the claim.
Israel and Hamas are currently observing a temporary ceasefire agreement, facilitating the exchange of civilian hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Despite the ceasefire, Hamas has continued to celebrate the October 7 attacks, which resulted in the largest mass killing of Jewish people since the Holocaust. During the ceremony, a stage displayed a poster depicting Israel as a “Nazi Army,” underscoring Hamas’s longstanding agenda of hostility towards the Jewish state.
The shocking parade of caskets, accompanied by celebratory music and cheering crowds, has drawn international condemnation and further underscored the brutal nature of Hamas’s actions. As the exchange process continues, the emotional toll on the families of the victims remains immeasurable.
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