The regime, true to its deceptive nature, attempted to mitigate the impact of this incident by spreading contradictory information and delaying the confirmation of the deaths of Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other passengers. Despite these efforts, it soon became clear that the loss was irreversible.
The regime’s attempts to downplay the incident underscored its fear and instability. Eventually, the regime’s propaganda machinery admitted: “All the occupants of the president’s helicopter have been killed.” Besides Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian, the deceased included Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in East Azerbaijan province; Malek Rahmati, the governor of East Azerbaijan province; Mehdi Mousavi, the commander of the presidential security guard; and three flight crew members.
The news of Raisi’s helicopter crash sparked widespread jubilation across the country. This national celebration stemmed from the death of one of the regime’s most notorious figures, known for executing Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1988 order to massacre more than 30,000 political prisoners, mainly members and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). That same year, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Khomeini’s heir apparent, told Raisi and three other officials that this atrocity had made the regime detested by the people and that their names would be recorded in history as some of the worst criminals.
In response to reports that his massacre order had not been fully carried out in some cities, Khomeini issued a letter on January 1, 1989, to Hossein Ali Nayeri, assigning him and Raisi a judicial mission to ensure the swift and uncompromised execution of God’s rulings in specific cities. Subsequent orders from Khomeini throughout January 1989 reiterated the need for expediency and thoroughness in carrying out executions, emphasizing the urgency of implementing these brutal measures.
Raisi’s role in these massacres and his subsequent actions as Khamenei’s head of the judiciary, including his responsibility for the massacre of 1,500 protesters in the November 2019 uprising and the brutal executions and tortures in the regime’s prisons, cemented his reputation as a key enforcer of the regime’s oppressive policies.
Following the news of the helicopter crash, Khamenei addressed a gathering of regime agents, saying, “The nation [i.e., Basij and IRGC] should not worry, no disruption will occur in the country’s affairs.” This message reflected his deep concern and the fear that losing such a crucial figure had shaken the very foundations of his regime.