Iran’s tragic loss spurs global diplomacy

by FERESHTEH SADEGHI

Over 115 nations sent their heads of state or senior dignitaries to commemorate Iran’s late president and foreign minister last week. Despite the tragic occasion, this was a diplomatic bonanza for the Iranians, with neighbors like Bahrain – despite a nearly nine-year diplomatic hiatus – seizing the opportunity to mend ties.

Last week, foreign heads of state, presidents, special envoys, diplomats, ministers, lawmakers, and advisors streamed into Tehran to pay their final respects following the helicopter accident that claimed the lives of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and six others.

Across the Global South, several countries declared days of national mourning, and dozens offered condolences and sympathies to the Islamic Republic for the loss of their president.

Iran’s allies in the Axis of Resistance that include Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Yemen’s Ansarallah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), did not forget Iran during this difficult time, either.

The presence of Palestinian officials in the mourning ceremonies and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s speech before the Jainaza Prayers made the total absence of Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders all the more noticeable.

Iran’s neighbors show support 

One notable guest was Tunisia’s President Kais Saeid – a historic first visit to Iran by a Tunisian head of state. He had only once spoken to Raisi on the sidelines of a forum in Algeria in March 2024 and relayed that conversation to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying that Raisi had urged him to visit Iran and he never imagined he would instead attend the late president’s funeral. 

Afghanistan’s rulers, the Taliban, also sent a senior delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The delegation met with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Hamas’ Haniyeh but was unable to meet with Khamenei, apparently a deliberate move from an Iranian leadership that has long urged the Taliban to take more practical and reasonable steps to enhance bilateral relations.

Iraq demonstrated full support for Iran, deploying several delegations and declaring a day of national mourning. Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, former prime ministers Haider al-Abadi and Adil Abdul Mahdi, and heads of Shia and Sunni political factions and tribes all traveled to Tehran. Additionally, the President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, who had been in Iran two weeks before the tragic crash, headed a high-level delegation.

Persian Gulf Arab states were among the neighboring countries that stood in solidarity with the grieving Iranian people. Prince Mansour bin Mutaib bin Abdulaziz, a special aide to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Al-Saud, headed the delegation from Riyadh. Oman sent several ministers, while the foreign ministers of Kuwait and the UAE, and the Emir of Qatar also flew to Tehran to pay respects.

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