The Sri Lankan government officially announced a ‘day of mourning’ for the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi earlier this month, with Colombo’s foreign minister leading a high level delegation to Tehran to attend the funeral.
The announcement of the “national mourning day” on May 21, came just three days after the North-East marked Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Commemoration activities to remember the Tamil war dead were marred by Sri Lankan police attempting to intimidate, disrupt and even arrest Tamils.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe signing a book of condolences at the Iran embassy in Colombo wrote that “the people of Iran lost a strong leader and Sri Lanka lost a good friend.”
Sri Lanka is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian and other senior Irani officials. I express my deepest sympathies and sincere condolences to the bereaved families, the government and the people of Iran.…
— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) May 20, 2024
Raisi’s unexpected death came weeks after he visited Sri Lanka, where he met with Ranil Wickremesinghe, just hours after the United States warned that it could impose sanctions on countries engaging in trade with Iran. Raisi was in Sri Lanka to inaugrate the Uma Oya Hydro Power project which Iran funded for a tune of USD10 Billion. "It is indeed a tremendous honour to be involved in such a symbol of unity, one that deepens the bond between our nations," Raisi said.
“It is worth noting that this project stands as a testimony to the friendship shared between Iran and Sri Lanka,” he added.
“I assure you that Iran is eager to forge a strong partnership with Sri Lanka, poised to contribute to its growth and development. Iran stands prepared to offer technical and engineering services for significant development initiatives in Sri Lanka.”
The Iranian president has been sanctioned by US over the “executions of individuals who were juveniles at the time of their crime and torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners in Iran, including amputations”.
He passed away in a reported helicopter crash, alongside Iran’s foreign minister.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry who attended the state funeral in Iran referred to the qualities of Iran’s Foreign Minister Dr. Amir Abdollahian as someone whose notable quality was “his charisma, which attracted and influenced many."
Hon. Ali Sabry, the FM of Sri Lanka, emphasized the characteristic of Dr. Amir Abdollahian at the funeral ceremony and said: "one of the notable qualities of AmirAbdollahian was his personal charisma, which attracted and influenced many."@alisabrypc@MFA_SriLanka https://t.co/AkqqpTamOM
— Embassy of I.R. Iran in Sri Lanka (@IRANinSriLanka) May 27, 2024
Sri Lanka has close ties with Tehran, which supplied $150m worth of arms to Sri Lanka in 2005, barely weeks after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the island. In 2007, weeks after LTTE commandos smashed Anuradhapura airbase in ‘Operation Ellalan’, Colombo approached Iran for a loan to replace destroyed aircraft.
Earlier this year Sri Lanka recently paid of USD 251 million in dues for crude oil imports via tea exports to Tehran. Sri Lanka signed a deal in December 2021 to offset the export of tea to Iran against the legacy oil credit owed by state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to the National Iranian Oil Company, without busting US sanctions.
