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‘The Butcher of Tehran’: Diaspora Iranian Jews Celebrate Death of Raisi, Iran’s Hardline President
Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses a Hamas solidarity rally in Tehran. Photo: Reuters/Sobhan Farajvan
Iranian Jews in the diaspora this week have been celebrating the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, whose long record of human rights abuses, Holocaust denial, and calls for Israel’s destruction have earned him infamy among Jewish communities worldwide.
Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and several others died on Sunday in a helicopter crash in the mountainous forested region of northern Iran amid heavy fog that impeded rescue efforts.
News of Raisi’s death was quickly accompanied by reports of celebrations among diaspora Iranians of all backgrounds. For Jews, their reactions were set against a backdrop of anger directed at the Iranian regime, which drove the vast majority of Iran’s ancient and thriving Jewish community into the diaspora during and immediately after the 1979 Islamic Revolution — reducing a community that had previously numbered over 100,000 to a few thousand within a few years.
Dr. Sheila Nazarian, a celebrity plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California, published that she “would shed no tears for Ebrahim Raisi, the ‘butcher of Tehran.’”
“As a woman born in Iran, I feel not just a sense of celebration at the death of this evil man, but of relief,” she wrote. “It is a feeling I share with a great many of my countrymen, and — in particular — countrywomen.”
Nazarian pointed to Raisi’s stint as deputy prosecutor of Tehran, where he sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death in “sham trials that lasted mere minutes” during Iran’s 1988 political purge.
Nazarian further mentioned Iran’s extensive support — including money, weapons, and training — for terrorist organizations across the Middle East during Raisi’s presidency. Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories, Shi’a militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen are among the armed groups backed by Tehran.
Along with blatant Holocaust denial and violent repression of women and popular dissent in the 2022 anti-government “Women, Life, Freedom” demonstrations, Raisi has been widely criticized by human rights organizations.
The deceased Iranian president has also consistently called for the elimination of Israel, saying he would “celebrate its end.”
“From his early days, Raisi epitomized the worst of Iran’s theocratic regime,” Nazarian wrote.
Others expressed hope that the death of Raisi could ultimately foster positive change in Iran.
“We hope that the death of President Raisi will usher in an era of freedom for the Iranian people and a quieter and more peaceful Middle East,” Elie Alyeshmerni, president of the Iranian American Jewish Federation, told The Algemeiner.
Meanwhile, comedian Menachem Kashanian released a video on Instagram highlighting the connections between Raisi’s death and the trial of Arvin Netanel Ghahremani, the 20-year-old Iranian Jewish man who was sentenced to death after reportedly killing an assailant in self-defense. On Sunday, Ghahremani’s execution was postponed until next month.
Kashanian compared the events to those of Purim, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of the Persian emperor’s antisemitic minister Haman, an official in ancient Achaemenid Iran. Haman was ultimately hanged.
Elsewhere on social media, youth activists and commentators chimed in with comedy in the wake of Raisi’s death.
They especially pounced on a message on a Telegram channel affiliated with the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, which said Raisi had been assassinated by Mossad agent “Eli Copter.”
It is unclear whether the original post was intended to be humorous, trolling, or fake news. Either way, the post went viral, and social media users posted slews of memes parodying and lauding the fictitious Mossad agent allegedly responsible for the demise of Raisi. Other memes included edits lampooning Raisi set to the song “Helikopter” by Bosnian singer Fazlija.
Raisi’s funeral was held on Wednesday and attended by leaders of some of Iran’s terrorist proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah. The Iranian president will be buried in his home city of Mashhad on Thursday.
The post ‘The Butcher of Tehran’: Diaspora Iranian Jews Celebrate Death of Raisi, Iran’s Hardline President first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Foreign Minister in Washington, a First in 25 Years
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani speaks during a press conference in Moscow, Russia, July 31, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/Pool
Syria’s foreign minister arrived in Washington on Thursday, the first official visit at that level in more than 25 years as the US makes a pro-Damascus policy push, lifting sanctions and mediating between the new Islamist rulers and Israel.
Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani will meet US lawmakers to discuss the lifting of remaining US sanctions on his country, Senator Lindsey Graham was quoted as saying by Axios. Two sources familiar with the trip confirmed the visit to Reuters.
It comes after some senior US diplomats focused on Syria were abruptly let go from their posts amid Washington‘s pivot, as the US seeks to integrate its longtime Syrian Kurdish allies with the central administration of President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The United States has also been mediating between Israel and Syria. Sharaa, who is due to visit New York next week for the UN General Assembly, said negotiations to reach a security pact with Israel could yield results “in the coming days.”
The United States had placed crippling sanctions on Syria since 2011 after former President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran and Russia, cracked down protests against him that triggered an almost 14-year civil war.
After he was toppled by Sharaa’s forces in a quick sweep in December, Washington and Damascus have been working to warm up ties, with US President Donald Trump announcing that he would move to lift the sanctions after meeting Sharaa in May.
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Saudi Arabia, Nuclear-Armed Pakistan Sign Mutual Defense Pact
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace each other on the day they sign a defense agreement, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 17, 2025. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
Saudi Arabia and nuclear–armed Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact late on Wednesday, significantly strengthening a decades-old security partnership a week after Israel’s strikes on Qatar upended the diplomatic calculus in the region.
The enhanced defense ties come as Gulf Arab states grow increasingly wary about the reliability of the United States as a security guarantor.
Asked whether Pakistan would now be obliged to provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear umbrella, a senior Saudi official told Reuters: “This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means.”
Pakistan is the only nuclear–armed, Muslim-majority nation, and also fields the Islamic world’s largest army, which it has regularly said is focused on facing down neighboring foe India.
The agreement was the culmination of years of discussions, the Saudi official said when asked about the timing of the deal. “This is not a response to specific countries or specific events but an institutionalization of long-standing and deep cooperation between our two countries,” the official added.
Israel’s attempt on Sept. 9 to kill the political leaders of Hamas with airstrikes on Doha, while they were discussing a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza that Qatar is helping to mediate, infuriated Arab countries.
Before the Gaza war, Gulf monarchies – US allies – had sought to stabilize ties with both Iran and Israel to resolve longstanding security concerns. Over the past year, Qatar has been subjected to direct hits twice, once by Iran and once by Israel.
Israel is widely understood to possess a sizeable nuclear arsenal but maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying possessing such weapons.
Pakistan had said its nuclear weapons are only aimed, as a deterrent, against India, and its missiles are designed with a range to hit anywhere to its east in India.
NUCLEAR UMBRELLA
Pakistani state television showed Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, embracing after signing the agreement. Also there was Pakistan‘s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, regarded as the country’s most powerful person.
“The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both,” a statement from the Pakistani prime minister’s office said.
Pakistan‘s decades-old alliance with Saudi Arabia – the site of Islam’s holiest sites – is rooted in shared faith, strategic interests and economic interdependence.
Pakistan has long had soldiers deployed in Saudi Arabia, currently estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 troops, providing operational, technical and training help to the Saudi military. That includes assistance to the Saudi air and land forces.
Saudi Arabia has loaned Pakistan $3 billion, a deal extended in December, to shore up its foreign exchange reserves.
The Saudi deal comes months after Pakistan fought a brief military conflict with India in May.
India’s ministry of external affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X on Thursday that India was aware of the development, and that it would study its implications for New Delhi’s security and for regional stability.
The senior Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the need to balance relations with Pakistan and India, also a nuclear power.
“Our relationship with India is more robust than it has ever been. We will continue to grow this relationship and seek to contribute to regional peace whichever way we can.”
Pakistan and India fought three major wars since the two countries were carved out of British colonial India in 1947.
After they both acquired nuclear weapons in the late 1990s, their conflicts have been more limited in scale because of the danger of nuclear assets coming into play.
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UN Sanctions on Iran to Be Reimposed, France’s Macron Says
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
European powers will likely reimpose international sanctions on Iran by the end of the month after their latest round of talks with Tehran aimed at preventing them were deemed not serious, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
Britain, France, and Germany, the so-called E3, launched a 30-day process at the end of August to reimpose UN sanctions. They set conditions for Tehran to meet during September to convince them to delay the “snapback mechanism.”
The offer by the E3 to put off the snapback for up to six months to enable serious negotiations is conditional on Iran restoring access for UN nuclear inspectors – who would also seek to account for Iran‘s large stock of enriched uranium – and engaging in talks with the US.
When asked in an interview on Israel’s Channel 12 whether the snapback was a done deal, Macron said:
“Yes. I think so because the latest news from the Iranians is not serious.”
E3 foreign ministers, the European Union foreign policy chief, and their Iranian counterpart held a phone call on Wednesday, in which diplomats on both sides said there had been no substantial progress, though the door was still open to try and reach a deal before the deadline expired.
The 15-member UN Security Council will vote on Friday on a resolution that would permanently lift UN sanctions on Iran – a move it is required to take after the E3 launched the process.
The resolution is likely to fail to get the minimum nine votes needed to pass, say diplomats, and if it did it would be vetoed by the United States, Britain, or France.