Tragedy will not change Iran's course

The deaths of Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and some other officials, in a helicopter crash on Sunday has raised concerns about how the tragedy will reverberate in Iran and beyond.

This is not a time for conspiracy theories. Nor for any schadenfreude on the part of those hostile to Iran.

Teheran should waste no time in verifying the cause of the crash some 20 kilometers south of the Azerbaijan-Iran border, which many have attributed to bad weather and technical problems, so as to ease domestic anger over the incident and prevent it being harnessed by some to their own ends.

Although some Western media have tried to hype up their speculation that the incident will further complicate Iran's relations with United States and Israel, or trigger domestic regime change, such outcomes are generally considered to be far-fetched and Teheran is confident that the domestic stability and the operation of the Iranian government will not to be affected.

With Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei firmly holding the helm of the Islamic Republic, Iran is expected to maintain social and political stability and the consistency of its diplomatic policies. That means the death of Raisi, despite him being a hard-liner against Israel, will not change Iran's support for Hamas and Hezbollah in their conflict with US-backed Israel.

President Raisi visited China in February last year, which made positive contributions to sustaining the healthy development of Sino-Iranian relations and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation that brings tangible benefits to the two peoples. And it was under his regime that with joint efforts of China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iran and Saudi Arabia have achieved reconciliation, bringing greater security and stability to the Middle East. Also, he saw Iran become a full member of BRICS, a platform China, Iran and other developing countries can take advantage of to promote multilateralism, common development and a just and fair global system.

Raisi, along with Amirabdollahian and the other Iranian officials who died in the crash, should be remembered for these positive developments that have served the well-being of the Iranian people, but also world peace and stability.