Dutch MPs annoyed by EU condolences after helicopter crash kills Iranian leader Raisi

Several Dutch parliamentarians reacted to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian with far more concern for the people of Iran. The two were among a group of politicians and crew members killed in a helicopter crash earlier on Monday.

“The EU expresses its sincere condolences for the death of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian, as well as other members of their delegation and crew in a helicopter accident. Our thoughts go to the families,” said European Council President Charles Michel.

“Not in my name!” PVV leader Geert Wilders exclaimed in response. The far right party holds more seats than any other in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch Parliament. Wilders recently concluded a coalition agreement with the VVD, NSC and BBB to form a new coalition government. “I hope Iran will soon become a secular state again, with freedom for the Iranian people and without an oppressive and barbaric Islamic mullah regime,” he wrote in English.

The Dutch caretaker Cabinet did not offer an official response by midday, but several Members of Parliament noted that Raisi’s legacy is marked by his nickname, “The Butcher of Tehran.” Raisi was given the moniker by his political opponents, who claimed he ran an operation involving the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 after the Iran-Iraq War.

Political party D66 is one of several parties in the current caretaker Cabinet with the VVD. D66 MP Jan Paternotte also said Michel was wrong to quickly offer condolences “given the many victims of Raisi and his regime” past and present. “At the same time, we must keep an eye on opportunities for a more moderate regime in Iran, should they arise in the future. The alliance of autocracies that Russia, China and Iran now form is a threat to the world order, but just as much to ordinary residents of those countries who live in increasingly extreme oppression and restrictions on freedom.”

Paternotte said, “Raisi is responsible for hundreds of executions, set Iran on an even more conservative course and made an alliance with Putin. He turned Iran into Russia’s drone factory.” He also noted Iran’s support of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, that Iran “has been holding a European diplomat hostage for 2 years,” and that it is “a country where taking off your headscarf can mean your death, and thousands have been murdered by the regime.”

“Iran and the world have lost a brutal barbarian,” wrote VVD MP Ruben Brekelmans. “So far condolences have been sent by China, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and... the President of the European Council. Not a word about the many victims, the EU diplomat held hostage, or the weapons given to Russia. Completely missed the mark!” Brekelmans said in response to Michel.

Brekelmans noted the murdered political prisoners, as well as “freedom-loving Iranians who have been arrested, tortured, raped and murdered,” citizens and residents of neighbouring Middle East countries affected by the Iranian regime “and its terrorist proxies,” and also “the Ukrainians who were victims of Iranian drones and missiles.”

He also expressed support for “the Iranians in the Netherlands and other countries who are intimidated and threatened by the regime.” Brekelmans would have preferred seeing Raisi sentenced to life in prison in The Hague for his role in various atrocities.

NSC party member Caspar Veldkamp also said Michel’s response lacked nuance. Veldkamp felt condolences should have been offered to a different set of surviving family members, specifically “of those murdered, tortured and oppressed,” he wrote in English.

Even the provision of assistance by the European Union raised some ire. European Commissioner Janez Lenarčič announced on X that the E.U. would help authorities track down the wreckage using the Copernicus Emergency Management Service Rapid Mapping satellite. He used the tag “EUSolidarity”, and said that it was an offer to help rescue workers, and should not be construed as political support. “It is simply an expression of the most basic humanity,” he wrote.

“EU solidarity with evil,” Wilders.