Ebrahim Raisi's death sparks celebrations amidst five-day grief

While the Iranian government declared a five-day national mourning for the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, celebrations broke out in Iran and across the world where Iranians live.

Several videos circulated online showed people dancing on the streets and fireworks being set off in Iranian cities. But the defiant acts of celebrations were muted due to fear of a crackdown by the hardline regime.

There were some videos showing a slew of women throwing back drinks and cheering his demise.

According to Reuters news agency, most shops remained open and the authorities made little effort to interrupt ordinary life.

A shopkeeper in central Isfahan told the Telegraph newspaper that he was experiencing a surge in selling sweets on Monday as people “keep coming to celebrate”.

On the other hand, there was a large crowd gathered in central Tehran's Vali-e-Asr square starting Sunday night, with many appearing to pray and some visibly distressed by the news that Raisi was one of eight people on board who were killed.

This kind of polarising response over the death of the country's president was expected, given that Raisi is remembered for his role as a jurist in the execution of dissidents.

Iran has never acknowledged that mass executions took place, but Amnesty International says 5,000 Iranians, possibly more, were executed in the first decade after the revolution. in 1988.

It was also under his regime that the mass crackdown on the protests over the death of Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini for defying the hijab rule, led to the death of hundreds of agitators.

The crash comes as the Israel-Hamas war roils the region. Iran-backed Hamas led the attack that started the conflict, and Hezbollah, also supported by Tehran, has fired rockets at Israel. Last month, Iran launched its own unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel.

A hard-liner who formerly led the country's judiciary, Raisi, 63, was viewed as a protege of Khamenei. During his tenure, relations continued to deteriorate with the West as Iran enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels and supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

His government has also faced years of mass protests over the ailing economy and women's rights.

The crash killed all eight people aboard a Bell 212 helicopter that Iran purchased in the early 2000s, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Among the dead were Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, a senior cleric from Tabriz, a Revolutionary Guard official and three crew members, IRNA said.

Iran has flown Bell helicopters extensively since the shah's era. But aircraft in Iran face a shortage of parts because of Western sanctions, and often fly without safety checks. Against that backdrop, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sought to blame the United States for the crash.

Also read | Iran will (also) remember Ebrahim Raisi for 1988 mass executions & crackdown on Hijab protests