A combination of pictures shows handout photos released by the Iranian presidency on May 20, 2024 of the empty seats of Iran's late president Ebrahim Raisi (L) and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a cabinet meeting held in Tehran the same day, following a helicopter crash in which they were both killed the previous day. (Credit: AFP / HO / IRANIAN PRESIDENCY)
The internet erupted with a wave of reactions and memes following the news of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's fatal helicopter crash. The accident caused a shock in Iran and numerous official reactions all over the world but it also quickly became a focal point for grief, political commentary and dark humor across social media platforms.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter on a Sunday crash amid foggy conditions in the mountains near the Azerbaijan border, according to Iranian state media. Among the victims was also Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Raisi has been criticized for his violent repression of protests that erupted in September 2022, after the death in detention of Jina "Mahsa" Amini, a young Iranian girl arrested for not wearing her hijab.
After the announcement of Raisi's helicopter crash, some X users published pictures of young protesters killed after the beginning of massive protests that erupted in September 2022. The online publications were claiming that these protesters have now been "avenged."
Another X user wrote that while "There is nothing to be celebrated about a tragic death," she is remembering "Mahsa Amini and thousands of people/women butchered by Raisi’s oppressive regime. May they all rest in peace."
In March of this year, a UN fact-finding mission mentioned “credible figures” that indicate there were 551 deaths, at least 49 women and 68 children in the repression of the protests.
Among various posts on the topic, Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad published videos of people celebrating Raisi's death, notably parents of protesters and activists killed during the 2022 protests.
One of them shows, according to Alinejad, the daughters of Minoo Majidi, who was killed during a protest in Kermanshah, in Western Iran, toasting to the news.
Several videos were also circulating showing fireworks after the news of the crash, though many of them have been proven fake or dated.
On her X account, Alinejad explained the number of jokes as the way "oppressed people fight back through humor."
“I think this is the only crash in history where everyone is worried if someone survived," and “Happy World Helicopter Day!” were among the jokes she said she saw on social media.
"The memes and comedy coming out of Iran and the diaspora are unmatched. This audio is funnier in Persian but the guy is doing an impression of President Raisi’s voice and saying 'Don’t listen to the rumors, I am alive. I am sitting here with a wolf and we are eating the remains of the foreign minister’s corpse,'" journalist Yashar Ali posted on X commenting on the audio.
The memes and comedy coming out of Iran and the diaspora are unmatched.
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) May 19, 2024
This audio is funnier in Persian but the guy is doing an impression of President Raisi’s voice and saying “Don’t listen to the rumors, I am alive. I am sitting here with a wolf and we are eating the remains… pic.twitter.com/n3WJaXDGJG
A video of Israeli political analyst Daniel Haik, on the French-speaking version of the i24 Israeli channel, was also mocked online, after he repeated, in all seriousness, a pun he had read online.
"Hilarious. A guy joked on Telegram that the person guilty for Raissi’s disappearance was a Mossad agent named 'Eli Kouptar.' (Mideast pronunciation of Helicopter) French-Israeli Channel i24 didn’t get the joke and wondered in all seriousness whether it was true or just a rumor!" political analyst and USJ associate professor of International Relations Karim Bitar wrote on X.
Journalist Jonathan Harounoff who specializes in Iranian and Israeli affairs shared a fake video of Mojtaba Khamenei, a key competitor in the succession race for the next Supreme Leader of Iran who is his son dancing in celebration of Raisi's death.
Totally real footage of Mojtaba Khamenei after today’s news about Raisi - a key competitor in the succession race for next Supreme Leader of Iran. pic.twitter.com/KOpqtSPlO4
— Jonathan Harounoff (@JonathanHaroun1) May 19, 2024
Iranian-American senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Holly Dagres also shared a meme commenting on the succession race.
In Lebanon, journalist Dima Sadek, a fierce opponent of Hezbollah and the Iranian axis in the region published a screenshot of a message on X that was posted, then deleted, by Hezbollah leader's son Jawad Nasrallah, in February 2021 after the assassination of intellectual Lokman Slim. "The loss of some is actually a gain and an unexpected sweetness,” Nasrallah had written, associating his tweet with the hashtag “No regrets.”
And on WhatsApp and other channels, people were sending pictures of Lebanese officials during helicopter rides, with ironic comments.