Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi unfortunately has died in a helicopter crash in a mountainous part of the country. The first president the conservative leader, was a 63-year-old serving his first term in office when the other officials were traveling in the poorly weathered aircraft that crashed.
Raisi had already been expected to seek re-election next year as a leading representative of Iran’s hardline factions. Ahmadinejad’s death has changed the country’s political landscape, as he was also perceived to be the next Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Raisi was born in Iran’s religious capital of Mashhad and worked his way up through the judiciary, acting as a prosecutor in different regions before being appointed to lead Astan Quds Razavi in 2016. He later became the head of the judicial chamber, and in this position, he proved himself to be a supporter of justice and an opponent of corruption.
Let us take a look at Raisi’s presidential success—how did he get there? He was unsuccessful in his run against the more moderate Hassan Rouhani in 2017 and again in 2021, during which his victory required the lowest voter turnout in history and the barring of many reformist candidates.
As president, Raisi obtained a difficult position on matters including the Iran nuclear deal and connections with Israel and the United States. He was a fierce opponent of what he called genocide and massacres carried out by Israel on the Palestinians and threatened to attack Israel for attacking Iran.
The death of Raisi has become an item of news in Iran, and many grieve the loss of a prominent political figure. The investigation on the crash of the helicopter is still being investigated as they seek and rescue the bodies that are still missing. While the nation and the world face this tragedy, it is difficult to predict how Iran’s politics will develop.
