Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has gone missing after the helicopter he was riding in crashed in the country’s East Azerbaijan province.
The 63-year-old political heavyweight has been seen as the natural successor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Raisi, an established figure with deep ties to the judiciary and religious elites, is a hard-line, religiously conservative politician who first ran unsuccessfully for president in 2017. He was ultimately elected in 2021.
early period
Raisi began studying at the famous Qom Seminary at the young age of 15 and went on to study under some of the top clerics of the time.
In his early 20s, he was appointed prosecutor in one city after another and worked as a deputy prosecutor in the capital, Tehran.
In 1983, he married Jamileh Alamolhoda, the daughter of Imam Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday worshiper of Mashhad. They had two daughters.
For five months in 1988, he was part of a committee that oversaw the execution of a series of political prisoners, but his past made him unpopular among Iranian opposition groups and led the United States to impose sanctions on him. . In 1989, following the death of Iran’s first supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini, he was appointed prosecutor in Tehran.
Mr. Raisi continued to rise through the ranks under Mr. Khomeini’s successor, Ayatollah Khamenei, and on March 7, 2016, he was appointed chairman of Mashhad’s largest religious endowment group, Astan Quds Razavi, and his position within the Iranian system. was firmly established.
run for president
Raisi first ran for president in 2017 against Hassan Rouhani, who was seeking re-election. President Rouhani oversaw negotiations for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Raisi, a critic of the 2015 agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), comes from a more hardline wing of Iran’s political system than Rouhani, who was considered a political moderate.
After his defeat, Raisi began planning his next presidential campaign. He won 62% of the vote in the June 2021 election, but the election was marred by a low turnout of 48.8% as several reformists and moderates were prevented from running.
By then, the JCPOA was in turmoil as the United States under former President Donald Trump unilaterally lifted and reimposed sanctions against Iran that had severely affected Iran’s economy.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has made the situation even worse, with the death toll exceeding 97,000 by August 2021.
connection
Raisi has high credibility in the religious community and has strong ties with the late Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei, who have appointed him to several senior positions.
He also managed to maintain good relations with all branches of government, the military, and the legislature, as well as the powerful theocratic ruling class.
But Raisi has led Iran at a time of growing public anger over deteriorating living standards, and has been criticized for prioritizing national defense over sanctions and domestic issues.
National outrage erupted over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police in late 2022. Police arrested the 22-year-old as she left a Tehran metro station with her family on suspicion of violating the country’s compulsory hijab rules.
The protests have roiled Iran for months, with women removing their hijabs, burning them and cutting their hair in protest.
The rallies ended in mid-2023 after security forces were called in to quell the protests, leaving about 500 people dead, according to foreign human rights groups. Seven people were executed for their role in the riot.
In March, a United Nations fact-finding mission concluded that Iran had committed crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and rape, in its crackdown.
standoff
Raisi also does not shy away from international conflicts.
Angered by the US stance on the JCPOA and the failure of other signatories to honor the deal, a defiant Raisi announced that Iran is ramping up its nuclear program but has no interest in a bomb. .
Most recently, he is now in his eighth month of leading Iran through a standoff between Iran and Israel, as the two countries are at odds over Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza.
Iran has openly condemned Israel’s brutal attacks on Palestinian civilians, as have its regional allies in the so-called “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and its Western allies.
In early April, an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus blamed on Israel killed seven people, including the commander-in-chief and his deputy.
For almost two weeks, Raisi’s every comment came under intense scrutiny as the world waited for Tehran’s response. On April 15, Iran launched a carefully telegraphed attack, with Israeli military chief spokesman Daniel Hagari predicting an attack with more than 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones, and 30 cruise missiles. most of which were intercepted outside Israel’s borders. The attack prompted a token response, with reports of minor damage in some areas of Israel.
A regional conflict between Iran and Israel could also be seen in Syria, where Israel has launched multiple attacks over the years ostensibly targeting Iranian military forces.
Iran has supported President Bashar al-Assad since he ordered a violent response to peaceful protests in 2011, leading to a 13-year civil war, and has maintained close ties with Syria for many years. has been maintained. With military and tactical support, Iran is expanding its influence in Syria, while its Lebanese ally Hezbollah is also strengthening Assad’s forces.
Raisi has proven to be a controversial president, between continuing established foreign policy and dealing with new conflicts at home and abroad.
But his strong relationships at all levels of Iran’s establishment make him a strong candidate for a second term and perhaps the highest post in Iran, the supreme leader.
