UN General Assembly Hall Empty During Raisi Memorial

A highly controversial memorial ceremony for former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday, with most countries refusing to attend.

Photos received from the UN show that the General Assembly Hall was almost empty during the event. A US official had earlier indicated that the Biden administration would not send a representative to the meeting, although earlier this month they expressed official condolences for Raisi’s death.

The Islamic Republic's state news agency (IRNA) reported that the UN General Assembly, in its first meeting after the death of Raisi and his entourage, observed a minute of silence "in their honor."

IRNA wrote that "the tribute and expression of sympathy from various countries around the world" following Raisi's death has "angered opponents of the Islamic Republic."

There have also been reports of protests held in front of the United Nations in opposition to the memorial ceremony for Raisi, widely condemned by Iranian activists and others worldwide.

Before the ceremony, the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the country would not participate in Raisi's memorial service at the UN.

A spokesperson for the French ambassador to the United Nations told an Iran International reporter that no representative from France would attend the UN memorial service for Raisi.

Previously, Senator Claire Chandler, Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Committee of Australia, emphasized in a statement that the country should boycott and condemn the UN's tribute to the "Butcher of Tehran."

The statement read: "The Australian government is obligated to boycott today's horrific tribute by the UN General Assembly to a man many Iranians know as the 'Butcher of Tehran'."

Raisi was a member of a “Death Committee” that in 1988 ordered the summary execution of 3,000-5,000 political prisoners who were serving their jail terms. He was also president when nationwide anti-government protests broke out in September 2022, when security forces killed around 550 civilians during four months of unrest and arrested 22,000 others. Dozens of protesters lost eyes and limbs when security forces fired guns at close range.

Earlier this month, the UN Security Council held a moment of silence for Raisi, during which the US representative also stood up and paid tribute. This led to vehement criticism by Iranians and Republican lawmakers.

Senator Tom Cotton and others condemned the Biden administration’s stance, accusing President Joe Biden of pursuing a policy of appeasement toward Iran.

“When I saw one minute of silence at the United Nations… it was a slap on the face of Iranian women who got killed simply for showing their hair,” Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad told ABC News on May 20. “It’s a slap on the face of men getting executed simply for protesting.”

Raisi spent his 45-year career in the Islamic Republic as a prosecutor or Islamic judicial official involved with persecuting dissidents.