Russian Propagandist Falls for Joke About ‘Assassination’ of Iranian President

Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov hosted his late-night Rossiya 1 program on Monday, which was intended as a tribute to the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, following his death in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

Partway through Solovyov went into one of his usual rants, raging against those who celebrated the death of Raisi – which he said should be viewed as a “political murder,” ordered and carried out by Israel.

He quoted a political analyst named Daniel Haik who allegedly said on the French channel 24 News that Hamas had claimed that the helicopter was piloted by and brought down by a suicidal Mossad agent, named “Eli Kopter.”

Some have commented that members of the panel during the program detected the joke and tried to warn Solovyov, who brushed them off and plowed on.

Solovyov then went on to refer to a book written by an “Israeli historian” called Ronen Bergman, called “Rise and Kill First,” which he described as a history of political murders and explains how Israel sees political murders as an acceptable way to ensure the country’s survival.

He next pointed the finger at the US which “has committed a colossal number of political murders.”

Solovyov then said of course Israel has said it had no part in the crash, saying “I don't remember a single case when these countries immediately admitted: yes, this is us. Why, if the Americans can kill one of the legends of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a leader who was one of the most popular military leaders of Iran, on the territory of a third country, what could prevent the assassination of the president?”

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There were several problems with Solovyov’s accusations against Israel which he, or his researchers, failed to recognize.

Any English speaker would immediately recognize the name Eli Kopter was obviously a joke, one which sprang up on Israeli social media as they celebrated the death of the Iranian President. One suggested the co-pilot was also a Jewish spy: “Avi Ron.”

The joke spread quickly on social networks around the world with many, like Solovyov not realizing it was a joke, calling it a coup by Israeli intelligence.

It was picked up by Daniel Haik who, far from being a political expert, was a presenter on the French-language Israeli news channel i24news.  Then as the joke spiraled out of control it was even picked up on the official Hamas Telegram channel, which cited it as a fact.

There is a book called “Rise and Kill First - The secret history of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations,” but the author, Ronen Bergman, is a noted journalist not a historian, and the book covers the use of targeted killings by Israel since its formation in 1948.

All mainstream media and political commentators concluded that there was nothing to suggest foul play in the deaths of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahiyan, with footage from the crash site showing thick fog in the East Azerbaijan region of Iran where the helicopter came down.

Even Iranian sources put the crash down to a technical fault in the aircraft, even though some blamed US sanctions for depriving the country of the parts necessary to properly maintain the helicopter.