India to observe state mourning on May 21 for President Raisi’s death

India will observe a day’s ‘state mourning’ on May 21 after the death of Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi in an apparent helicopter-related incident was confirmed by Tehran

India will observe a day’s ‘state mourning’ on May 21 after the death of Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi in an apparent helicopter-related incident was confirmed by Tehran on Monday. The helicopter carrying President Raisi, Foreign Minister of Iran Amir Abdollahian and other senior officials had gone missing on Sunday when he was returning to Tehran after inaugurating a dam in the East Azerbaijan province. The burnt remains of the helicopter were detected in the early hours of Monday though the circumstances surrounding its last moments are yet to be clarified.

“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. India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his message which came soon after Iran officially announced the demise of President Raisi and his colleagues.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also expressed condolences to the Iranian people and said, “[I] Recall my many meetings with them, most recently in January 2024.”

As part of the state mourning for President Raisi, the national tricolour will be flown in half mast throughout India on all buildings where the national flag is flown regularly and the Government of India will not hold any official entertainment on Tuesday, an official press release said.

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Mr. Jaishankar had flown to Tehran in January when he held talks with Mr. Abdollahian and President Raisi in the backdrop of the increasing number of attacks against ships by the Houthi rebels on the Red Sea. They also discussed India-Iran cooperation regarding the port of Chahbahar during that visit.  India concluded a major agreement on May 13 with Iran for long term 10-year operation of the Chahbahar port.

The death of Mr. Raisi and Mr. Abdollahian has also cast a shadow over the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan on Tuesday. Other Foreign Ministers of SCO countries have already arrived in the Kazakh capital, and sources said a decision is still to be made about how to proceed. As elections are underway, India has sent Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi, who was due to work with other delegations to prepare the final summit agenda for the SCO summit due to be held in early August.