UN tribute to Iran’s late President Raisi marred by protests and European and US snubs

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly’s tribute to Iran’s late president Ebrahim Raisi was snubbed by Western and East European nations amid protests against honoring a leader who was reviled for his crackdown on opponents. The assembly’s tribute was no surprise. It is a longstanding practice that the 193-member world body holds a plenary meeting to pay tribute to the memory of a sitting head of state who dies. There were some warm tributes to Raisi, especially from African nations. But what happened Thursday that was highly unusual was that only representatives from the African, Asian-Pacific, and Latin American and Caribbean regional groups spoke. There were no remarks from the West European or East European groups, or from the United States, the host country.