Michael D Higgins has been accused of “giving succour to an odious and totalitarian regime” by congratulating the new President of Iran. 

In his letter, Mr Higgins said that he regretted the “the circumstances that brought about the election and take the opportunity to repeat the condolences of the people of Ireland for the deaths of your predecessor President Raisi”. 

Mr Higgins also claimed Iran would play a “crucial role” in building peace in the Middle East. 

The letter has been criticised by a number of observers as the late President Raisi was nicknamed the ‘Butcher of Tehran’ and oversaw mass killings during his time as a political figure.  

On Newstalk Breakfast, defence and security expert Declan Power said the remarks were tin-eared. 

“Whatever about being appropriate, I think it’s ill-judged in the times we live in considering the role Iran has in destabilising the Middle East and its record in human rights,” he said. 

“And the fact that it is a funder of a group that has been connected to the deaths of an Irish peacekeeper and other Irish peacekeepers - [through] Hezbollah. 

“I think it’s following a pattern with the President where he tends to voice his opinions or sympathies to autocratic regimes. 

“And it’s very out of line with Irish foreign policy and the statements from figures such as the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.” 

President Michael D Higgins in England, 11-4-14. Image: Colin Underhill / Alamy

Mr Power said Mr Higgins likely believes a congratulatory letter will help “cool tensions” in the Middle East but needs to be more careful. 

Israel - a country which Iran recently fired rockets at - has since criticised the letter as a missed opportunity to condemn Iran’s support for “Jihadi terrorist organisations like Hizbolloah, Hamas and the Houthis”.

“I think what happens is these kinds of statements get taken out of context by people in the likes of Israel and they’re used to make Ireland look as if we have a certain stance or paint us into a corner,” Mr Power said. 

“I can understand that he probably wants to call out Israeli aggression and that’s quite understandable - I think most Irish citizens would agree with that. 

“I think he can do that without giving succour to an odious and totalitarian regime like the Iranian one.” 

The Iranian Embassy in Dublin said the letter was “completely normal under diplomatic relations” and they also received letters from countries including Austria, Portugal and Norway.

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Main image: President Higgins. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie