Lebanon declares 3 days of mourning, Hezbollah condoles Raisi’s death in copter crash

Mikati issued a memorandum on Monday for Lebanon to observe three days of mourning after the wreckage of the helicopter carrying President Raisi and members of his delegation was found in a mountainous region in northwestern Iran.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was also on board the helicopter.

The declaration of mourning came as the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah also issued a statement extending condolences to the Iranian nation and leadership over the martyrdom of President Raisi and his top diplomat.

“We have known Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi for many years; he was our great brother, a strong supporter, a staunch defender of the issues of the Islamic Ummah, at the forefront of which is the issue of al-Quds and Palestine,” Hezbollah said.

He was the “great hope of all the oppressed in the world,” the statement further read.

Hezbollah further hailed Amirabdollahian as “a supporter and friend of the resistance movements and their standard-bearer in all political and diplomatic forums around the world”.

Amirabdollahian has visited Lebanon many times in recent years, especially in recent months since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war on Gaza, triggering clashes with Hezbollah and other regional resistance groups.