Some Iranians Celebrate Raisi's Death with Dancing in Public

Different groups of Iranians in exile poured onto the streets across Europe and North America to celebrate President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash.

Footage posted online shows people dancing in Paris, London, Frankfurt and Toronto.

Mersedeh Shahinkar and Sima Moradbeigi who were injured by Iranian security forces during 2022 protests celebrated Raisi’s death in a video that went viral on Monday. 

🎥 مرسده شاهین کار و سیما مرادبیگی، دو تن از آسیب دیدگان اعتراضات زن زندگی آزادی، با انتشار این ویدیو شادی خود را از مرگ رییسی ابراز کردند.#فرود_سخت #هیات_مرگ #ابراهیم_رییسی pic.twitter.com/sfaN0myN42

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) May 20, 2024

Fireworks were also reported across Iran as opponents of the clerical establishment celebrated news of Raisi and the foreign minister’s death.

Iran has announced an inquiry into the causes of the crash. 

The president’s body will tour the country in the coming days following the announcement of a five-day mourning period by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

A hardliner, Raisi had been in office since 2021, a period marked by mass protests against the repression of women in Iran.

As a judge, Raisi was also connected to the 1988 mass execution of political prisoners.

Thousands of these prisoners were ruthlessly executed and dumped in unmarked graves.

While the exact number of deaths is not known, rights groups estimate that roughly 5,000 people were killed following Raisi’s brutal judgments.