Putin says Iran's Raisi was an 'outstanding' leader

"Raisi was an outstanding politician whose entire life was dedicated to serving his homeland," Putin said in a letter to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published on the Kremlin's website.

In this pool photograph distributed by Russian news agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in the Kremlin in Moscow on December 7, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as an "outstanding politician" and said his death in a helicopter crash was an "irreplaceable loss." AFP