How Iranians reacted to president's helicopter crash

Some Iranians took part in a mourning ceremony for the late president in Tehran

Shock and disbelief were the overriding emotions expressed by most Iranians on social media after the news broke that President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crashed in north-western Iran on Sunday afternoon.

Speculation immediately began to spread online as Iranian state media went through their familiar motions of reporting limited and at times contradictory information about the incident.

Some wondered if Raisi and the seven other people on board the helicopter, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other senior officials, had died.

Were government officials stalling to prepare an announcement or were they just as in the dark about their fates as the general public? they asked. “He is definitely dead,” one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“They are just buying time so they can manage the crisis.”

There was also conjecture about the cause of the crash, which happened in a remote, mountainous area during heavy fog and rain.

Some asked whether it was simply an accident - the latest incident in Iran’s long history of crashes - or the result of an attack or sabotage.

“You can only find a handful of working aircraft in the entire country,” another X user posted.

“Remember how the hardliners said buying new planes and choppers was luxury and waste?”

But by Sunday evening, there was a tangible shift in the public mood.

Protesters held placards in front of the Iranian embassy in Berlin following the news of the president's death

As night fell and the search-and-rescue teams were unable find the crash site, state TV broadcast footage of prayers being held for Raisi across the country.

The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, meanwhile told Iranians that they should “not worry” and that “no disruption will be caused to the workings of the country”.

The remarks were interpreted by many Iranians as a sign that the government was already aware of what had happened to those on board the helicopter and that an announcement would come in the morning.

As doubts over their fate gave way to certainty, there was a sharp contrast in the reactions from opponents and supporters of the Islamic Republic.

Opponents celebrated Raisi's death as “good news”. He was reviled by many for his role in the state’s violent suppression of the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement and his involvement in the mass executions of political prisoners in the late 1980s.

On Persian social media, there were many jokes and sarcastic comments as well as photographs of protesters who were killed or maimed two years ago.

There were also videos showing fireworks being set off in several locations in Iran's capital, Tehran.

One post on X said: “The mood is so joyful here, the regime may want to consider announcing three days of military curfew instead of three days of mourning.”

Regime loyalists meanwhile answered Ayatollah Khamenei’s call to pray for Raisi and the others on the helicopter, gathering in at least one square in Tehran.

As news of the president’s death was confirmed by state media on Monday morning, there were sombre gatherings by the president’s supporters in several more cities.

Some also took to social media to condemn, and even threaten, those who were publicly celebrating the news.

Mohammad Mohammadi Tabar, a cleric, wrote on X that Iranians should “deal a firm blow to those who are giddy”. One Instagram user posted pictures of young people killed by the regime over a recording of Raisi declaring there was no mercy for its challengers.

However, the threats were not only confined to social media. Judiciary officials also warned that anyone found to have celebrated the president’s death would be prosecuted.

There is also a large "grey area" of Iranians who are largely indifferent to the news.

Many Iranians do not believe much will change with the president’s death, as the Supreme Leader holds ultimate power and controls the security forces who deal with any dissent.

The Islamic Republic is also expected to mobilise its supporters to ensure a strong turnout at the funerals on Tuesday.