Expressing his condolences, the Indian PM underscored Raisi’s role in enhancing bilateral ties between New Delhi and Tehran
India stands with Iran in its time of sorrow, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Monday in response to President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter accident near the border with Azerbaijan.
Raisi, 63, and his entire entourage, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Malek Rahmati, governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, died in the accident. The Iranian leader had embarked on the trip after joining Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday to inaugurate a dam.
Modi, posting on X (formerly Twitter), said he was “shocked and saddened” by Raisi’s demise, and added that his contribution to strengthening New Delhi’s bilateral relationship with Tehran “will always be remembered.”
When the first reports of Raisi’s helicopter crash surfaced on Saturday, the Indian PM said he was “deeply concerned.” “We stand in solidarity with the Iranian people in this hour of distress,” he wrote.
Deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the people of Iran.…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2024