Stay Classy

As is the custom at the United Nations whenever a leader dies in office, a memorial ceremony will be conducted for  late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

The United States will boycott this event.

Seriously, being there costs nothing, and not being their gains nothing, except perhaps reinforcing the perception that the United States is a thin skinned bully.

To quote not-Tallyrand, "It is worse than a crime, it is a mistake."

The United States will boycott a United Nations tribute on Thursday to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed earlier this month in a helicopter crash, a U.S. official said.

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly traditionally meets to pay tribute to any world leader who was a sitting head of state at the time of their death. The tribute will feature speeches about Raisi.

"We won't attend this event in any capacity," a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The U.S. boycott has not previously been reported. 

………

The U.N. Security Council stood at the beginning of an unrelated meeting for a moment of silence on May 20 to remember the victims of the helicopter crash. Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood reluctantly stood with his 14 counterparts.

The United States expressed its "official condolences" for Raisi's death, the State Department said on May 20. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby also said that day: "No question this was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands."

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration was strongly criticized by some Republican members of Congress for offering condolences to Iran.

Seriously, being a turd in the punch bowl at a memorial service is pathetic and small.

With the approach of near peers in foreign relations, the United States government can no longer afford to behave this way.