International
Widespread regret and condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisí
The death in a helicopter accident of the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hosein Amir Abdolahian, has generated great regret in Arab countries and widespread condolences in the West.
The helicopter in which Raisí and other authorities were traveling disappeared for unexplained reasons this Sunday when it was returning from the city of Tabriz and the aircraft was found today in a mountainous area of the Varzeqan region, in Eastern Azerbaijan.
Among the Arab countries, the Lebanese government decreed on Monday three days of official mourning for the death of President Raisí.
Lebanon maintains good relations with Iran, one of the foreign powers that are considered most influential in the nation, due in large part to the close collaboration between Tehran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá.
The president of Syria, Bashar al-Asad, expressed his condolences and thanked Ebrahim Raisí for his work to strengthen the ties between the two countries, important allies at various levels.
The president of Iran had made a historic visit to Damascus a year ago, the first of an Iranian leader of his level since 2010, a year before the outst of the war in Syria.
Iran is a key route for supplying oil derivatives and other goods to Syria, subject to a series of international sanctions that limit its trade activities, and also maintains a strong armed presence in Syrian territory, where Iranian advisers and pro-Iranian militias are present.
For his part, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmud Abbas, on Monday offered his condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran after the fatal accident and that of Tunisia, Kais Said, also expressed “great sadness and pain.”
Meanwhile, the president of Turkey, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed his condolences for his “esteemed counterpart and brother” Raisí and highlighted the efforts of the deceased “for the peace of the Iranian people and our region during his term.”
One of the most heartfelt reactions was that of the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá, a close ally of Tehran.
“For us he was an older brother, a strong supporter and a firm defender of our cause, and of the cause of the nation, especially Jerusalem and Palestine. And a protector of the Resistance movements and its mujahideen in all the positions of responsibility he held,” Hizbulah said in a statement.
The Lebanese group is part of an informal anti-Israeli alliance led by Tehran known as the “Axis of Resistance”, several of whose members hold fronts of support for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the framework of the war that began seven months ago in Gaza.
Hizbulah, who leads one of those fronts against Israel from southern Lebanon, allegedly receives strong arms and logistical support from his Iranian allies.
And the de facto government of the Taliban in Afghanistan also expressed its condolences on the death of Ebrahim Raisí, who was part of a Cabinet determined to build good relations with the fundamentalists despite occasional incidents.
Under the command of Raisi, who came to power in 2021 and was one of the favorites to succeed the supreme Iranian leader, Ali Khamenei, Tehran became one of the few countries interested in improving bilateral relations with the Taliban when they took power in Afghanistan that same year.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, and the Shiite Houthi rebels of Yemen expressed their “sincere condolences” to Iran on Monday in two messages.
Qatar is one of the closest Arab countries to Iran and has mediated on several occasions between the Government of Tehran and other countries, in particular the United States, to bring views on issues such as the nuclear program or that of Iranian ballistic missiles.
The Houthis of Yemen are an Iran-backed Shiite political and religious movement that took up arms in 2014 against the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and since then they control large areas of the north and center of that country in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.
In recent months, Houthis have managed to attract international attention for their attacks with ballistic missiles and drones, allegedly Iranian, against Israeli merchant ships or ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea, in retaliation for that country’s war in Gaza.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today expressed his condolences for the “enormous tragedy” of Raisi’s death, whom he described as a “friend.”
“As a true friend of Russia, he made a valuable personal contribution to the development of good-neighbourly relations between our countries and made great efforts to bring them to the level of strategic partnership,” the Russian president added.
Russia and Iran have strengthened their relations in recent years, especially since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, since Tehran supplies Moscow with the Shahed drones with which it bombs the territory of the neighboring country.
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured that his people “have lost a good friend.”
Xi highlighted the “important contributions of the Iranian president to the security and stability” of his country, as well as to “its development and prosperity,” according to a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. In this line, the Chinese leader recognized Raisí’s efforts to “strengthen and develop the integral strategic relationship” between China and Iran, ties that he believes will “continue to be strengthened.”
In 2021, China and Iran sealed a 25-year economic cooperation agreement that broadly provides for Chinese investments in the Iranian energy and infrastructure sectors.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed condolences for the death of Raisí, Minister Abdolahian and his entourage. “Our thoughts are with the families,” he wrote in a message on his social network account X.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, joined with a statement in which he also conveyed his condolences to the rest of the deceased authorities, their relatives and “the affected Iranian citizens.”
Meanwhile, the NATO spokeswoman, in a message on social network X wrote: “Our condolences to the people of Iran for the death of President Raisí, Foreign Minister Amir Abdolahian and other people who died in the helicopter accident.”
Japan also sent its condolences to Iran. “There is nothing sadder than the news of a sudden death like this. We convey our condolences to the Government of Iran and its people, as well as to the families of the victims,” said Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi.
International
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.
The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.
This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.
The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.
International
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.
During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.
Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.
Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.
On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.
International
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.
Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.
“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.
Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.
The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.
As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.
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