Iran President Ebrahim Raisi seen on screen during the BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre on 24 August 2023 in Johannesburg. (Deaan Vivier/Gallo Images/Beeld)
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who recently invited Iran to join the BRICS group, expressed deep regret on Monday over the death of President Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
UPDATE | Iran President Raisi dies in helicopter crash, govt says operations go on without ‘slightest disruption’
“This is an extraordinary, unthinkable tragedy that has claimed a remarkable leader of a nation with whom South Africa enjoys strong bilateral relations,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa visited Iran as deputy president in 2015, and in 2023 welcomed Raisi to a summit of the BRICS group in Johannesburg, where the Islamic republic was formally invited to join.
Iran became a full member of the intergovernmental forum in January, along with Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.
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