President Bola Tinubu has yet to issue condolences to Iran on behalf of Nigeria following the death of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei.

Khamenei was killed following coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel in an ongoing war with the Middle Eastern country.

Since his death, several countries have expressed their opinions regarding the Shia cleric who served as Iran’s second supreme leader from 1989.

In a message on Kremlin’s website, President Vladimir Putin of Russia described the death as a “cynical murder” that violated “all standards of human morality and international law”.

“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family,” he said.

In a post on X, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sympathised with the people of Iran, adding that he was saddened to learn of the passing of the supreme leader.

The Houthi leadership in Yemen described the attack on Khamenei as a heinous crime that represents a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and embodies the continuation of the unjust attack on the Islamic nation.”

In Africa. Chad’s leader, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, sympathised with Iran and extended “most sincere and heartfelt condolences” to the late supreme leader.

According to the Iranian Embassy in South Africa, it received the letter of condolence from President Cyril Ramaphosa, following the “martyrdom of Imam Khamenei. Iran and South Africa have deep-rooted friendship.”

However, the embassy’s message on X was met with a sharp response from the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs against Ramaphosa.

It reads, “No friend of the Ayatollah is a friend of ours. South Africa’s president is cozying up to the Iranian regime while grandstanding and enjoying American freedom in Chicago.”

While South Africa’s President’s condolences were sent privately to the Iranian government, no public record indicates whether Nigeria has followed the same approach regarding the passing of Khamenei. It is also unclear if Nigeria supports or condemns the killing, amid claims by the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, that Iran sponsors terrorism in Nigeria.

With the U.S. fighting terrorism in Nigeria, the country’s silence on Khamenei’s death may be seen as playing it safe. The same Tinubu-led government was quick to offer public condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran over the passing of President Ebrahim Raisi, as well as Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials in a helicopter crash.

Not following the same footsteps in light of Iran’s supreme leader’s passing at the hands of the U.S. could suggest that Nigeria is attempting to curry favour with the U.S., which has accused it of Christian genocide. (Guardian)

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