As soon as the news broke on Sunday that the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had crashed in the far north-western corner of the country, Iranians who oppose the regime began to celebrate. Celebrations then only increased after the President was announced to be dead.
According to several sources, Iranian citizens in several locations, including Raisi's hometown of Mashhad, shot off fireworks and played music in the middle of the night to celebrate the news.
Iranian dissenters at home and abroad also took to social media as well to express their feelings following the death of the leader who was known as "the Butcher of Tehran" for his role in sentencing thousands of prisoners of conscience to death in the 1980s.
Using the hashtag "#helikotlet," a play on the words helicopter and Kotlet, an Iranian fried ground beef and potato patty, social media users uploaded posts with memes, jokes, and celebratory remarks about the president's demise. Several users even posted a picture of Raisi's head superimposed on the dish.
Being that the helicopter crashed in a densely wooded area, many posted pictures of bears and wolves, speculating, or maybe hoping, that the forest creatures ate the President.
Responding to an anti-Zionist Jew who wrote that Jews stand with Iran and Raisi, one Iranian X user wrote: "But we Iranians stand with helicopters."
Continuing on the helicopter theme, many users incorporated the song "Helikopter" by Bosnian artist Fazlija in their posts.
While many celebrated with jokes and memes, others chose a more somber tone for their celebrations, pointing out Raisi's brutality and remembering those who were killed under his rule. One activist, known as Ember, wrote: "We will not mourn the demise of this murderous man who has the blood of tens of thousands of people on his hands, and neither should you. This incompetent regime is on its last legs and a brighter future awaits."
One Iranian posted a collage of photos of those killed by the regime and the caption: "I wish you could be happy like us." LiveIranNews, an independent anti-regime news account, posted a video of Khodanur Lojei, a young man who was killed by regime forces during a protest in 2022, dancing with the caption: "'In the end, even if one of us survives, it is enough to dance on your grave' In memory of the beautiful dance of Khodanur."