Blinken сlaims Iranians are better off with death of Raisi

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has claimed that the Iranian people and the world at large have benefited from the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

"Bearing in mind the horrific acts in which he was involved as a judge and president, and the fact that he cannot be involved in them in the slightest, yes, the Iranian people are probably better off… We are definitely not grieving over his death." he said when asked by Senator Ted Cruz if "the world is a better place now that Raisi is dead."

Blinken said the US does not mourn Raisi's passing and would not declare a moment of silence at the UN in his memory.

At the same time, the State Department issued condolences on the death of the Iranian president the previous day.

The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hosein Amir Abdollahian and other officials crashed on 19 May in the north-west of the country in the Verzegan region. The delegation was returning from a visit to Azerbaijan, where Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev participated in the opening ceremony of the Giz Galasi and Khudaferin hydroelectric complexes on the Araks border river.

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If France sends troops to Ukraine, then the retaliatory measures will go far beyond the political sphere, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s First European Department Artyom Studennikov told Sputnik.

"We note that the increasingly belligerent rhetoric of the French president, who does not rule out the possibility of sending French troops to Ukraine, does not encounter, mildly speaking, widespread support among EU and NATO allies and is rejected by a significant majority of the French people. Nevertheless, we cannot but take such statements, which in essence are veiled threats, with all seriousness," Studennikov said.

He noted that France's participation in Ukraine would make it a party to the conflict and increase the risk of a clash between two nuclear powers.

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🗣 "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has every opportunity to become a pillar of the multipolar system and a driving force in transforming Eurasia into a single continental space of peace. All participants in the Council of Foreign Ministers spoke of this," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the possibility of the SCO becoming a guarantor of Eurasian security.

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Media report reveals which countries will recognize Palestinian statehood on Wednesday

Ireland will officially recognize Palestinian statehood in coordination with at least two other European countries, Politico reports.

The announcement is expected to be made by Ireland’s three-party government, as represented by Prime Minister Simon Harris, Foreign Minister Micheál Martin and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan at an 8 a.m. press conference, an Irish official was cited as saying.

Similar moves are expected in two other European capitals, added the unnamed official, without clarifying their identity.

However, it is reported that over the past few weeks Ireland discussed the timing of Palestinian statehood recognition in meetings with the governments of Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Norway and Malta. Currently, the State of Palestine is recognized by nine EU member states. Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia took this step in 1988, before joining the EU, while Sweden recognized the State of Palestine in 2014.

As of May 2024, Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 143 out of 193 member states of the United Nations.

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▪️ Blinken сlaims Iranians are better off with death of Raisi

▪️ Watch crowds wishing to bid farewell to the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi

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🗣 "Death to Israel" was chanted by attendees at Iranian President Raisi's funeral procession in Tehran

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🇮🇷 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei leаds a farewell prayer for President Raisi and his companions

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🗣 Maria Zakharova called accusations of Russian involvement in the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico a fit of madness.

“British tabloid The Times believes that Russia is behind the assassination attempt on Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovakia Robert Fico. Peter Conradi, a columnist and the publication's correspondent in Bratislava, shared this fit of madness. And I kept wondering who would be the first to articulate the sacramental the 'Russians Did It.' It turned out to be The Times. It's dangerous to wrap even dried Caspian roach in this paper – the fish will go crazy,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

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