3:24 am ET, May 20, 2024
Hamas, Houthis and Hezbollah mourn death of Iranian president
From CNN’s Mustafa Salem in Abu Dhabi
Pro-Iranian militant groups Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah have sent condolences to Tehran over the death of the country’s President Ibrahim Raisi.
Chairman died A helicopter carrying Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian crashed in Iran’s northwestern East Azerbaijan province on Sunday.
Hours after their deaths were confirmed, a senior Houthi official, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, offered his condolences.
We express our deepest condolences to the Iranian people and the Iranian leadership. “The Iranian people will have leaders who are loyal to their people.
The president of Yemen’s Houthi-led government, Mahdi al-Mashad, sent a “message of condolence and condolences” to Iran after Raisi’s death.
He said his sincere condolences, deepest sympathies and solidarity with the Supreme Leader of Hamas and “the government of Iran and the brotherly Iranian people”.
“We hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran will overcome the consequences of this great loss with the help of Allah, as the dear Iranian people have strong organizations capable of coping with this severe ordeal,” Hamas said.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah compared Raisi to “Big Brother”.
“Hezbollah in Lebanon expresses deep condolences and sympathy for the loss of (Iran’s Supreme Leader, Iranian officials and Iranian people),” the group’s statement said.
“We have known the martyred president intimately for a long time. He was a big brother to us, a strong supporter, a staunch defender of our issues and the issues of the nation, especially Jerusalem and Palestine, and a defender of resistance movements.
Hezbollah, one of the Middle East’s most powerful paramilitary forces, has clashed with Israel in daily cross-border clashes since the war in Gaza began.
Iran has provided military and economic support to Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah.
