Blinken _We are not sad about the death of Raisi, and the Iranian people are in a better situation

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered that "the Iranian people are in a better situation after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi." 'We are certainly not sad about his death,' Blinken said at a hearing of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee, in response to Senator Ted Cruz's question about the official condolences that the US State Department sent to Tehran. At the same time, Cruz noted that "it is shameful that flags are flown at half-mast at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva to mourn the death of the Iranian President." Cruz also asked if he thought "the world is better" after Raisi's death, to which Blinken responded: "Given the terrible things he got involved in as a judge and as a president, I would say yes, it's possible that the Iranian people are better off." For his part, Senator John Barrasso criticized the State Department for its condolences, describing such a decision as a "huge mistake." Blinken replied: "We expressed our official condolences, and we do t hat when countries lose their leaders, whether they are enemies or not." The US State Department expressed its condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, his Foreign Minister, and the accompanying delegation, stressing at the same time its support for the Iranians' struggle for human rights and freedoms. The US State Department said in a statement, 'The United States expresses its condolences for the death of the Iranian President, Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran.' The Iranian presidency announced on Monday morning that Raisi, Abdullahian, and other officials were killed after their helicopter crashed during their return from the 'Khoda Afrin' area on the common border with Azerbaijan towards the city of Tabriz. Source: National Iraqi News Agency