US Senate Chaplain Prays for Late Iranian President Raisi (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US Senate Chaplain Barry Black, during a session on the Senate floor, offered a prayer for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Black led an opening prayer from the Senate floor, expressing condolences for the people of Iran mourning the loss of President Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and other officials who were aboard the helicopter that crashed in a mountainous region in the northwest of the country.
The helicopter disappeared in cold weather conditions, characterized by heavy rain and fog.
“Lord, we pray for the Iranian people who mourn the death of their president,” Black said during a Senate hearing.
“We pray in your loving name, Amen.”
Raisi had served as the president of Iran since 2021.
On Sunday, rescue teams from the Red Crescent Society of Iran, the IRGC, the military, and the police were deployed to search for the missing helicopter.
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society reported that 40 rescue and rapid response teams were involved in the efforts.
Early Monday, it was confirmed that Raisi had been martyred in the crash.
He was accompanied by Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the Friday prayers leader of Tabriz, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, who were also martyred in the crash.
Other victims included Maj. Gen. Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, head of the president’s security team, a member of the Ansar al-Mahdi Corps, the helicopter pilot and co-pilot, and a helicopter technician.
