The late President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, and was known to the U.S. government for his involvement in massacres of Iranian citizens. Raisi played a role in the massacre of 5,000 Iranian political prisoners in 1988 and the slaughter of 1,500 Iranian demonstrators in 2019. He was a judge on a death panel in the late 1980s and proudly claimed these mass murders as achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Raisi was characterized as one of the most evil men serving one of the most brutal regimes and his death presents challenges for the succession to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei.
Ali Khamenei handpicked Raisi as his candidate in a reported sham election in 2021, earning Raisi the moniker “Butcher of Tehran” for his brutal crackdown on Iranian demonstrators. Raisi’s death is seen as a blow to the despised and vulnerable regime, though he will likely be replaced by another Khamenei loyalist. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has stepped in as president until new elections are held, sanctioned by the U.S. and European Union for his involvement in violating the rights of dissidents. Raisi’s tenure was marked by the expansion of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program, missile attacks on Israel, and a bloody purge of activists associated with the Women, Life, Freedom movement.
President Biden’s diplomatic posture towards Raisi and Khamenei has been criticized for emboldening Iran’s regime to attack Israel. The administration waived sanctions on Iran’s economy, releasing billions of dollars, despite assurances that the funds could not be used for military expansion. Critics argue that the financial relief allows Iran to revise its budget to strengthen its military capabilities. Raisi’s death has sparked intense criticism of the Biden administration for providing economic sanctions relief to the regime, with Iranian Americans protesting Raisi’s appearance at the U.N. and urging world leaders to refrain from expressing condolences to the regime.
German-Iranian dissident Kazem Moussavi, representing the Iran Green Party in exile, labeled Raisi as one of the main criminals in Iranian history and called on German leaders to not express condolences to Iran’s regime following Raisi’s death. The legacy of Raisi is expected to continue under the next president, given that policies in Iran are determined by Khamenei. The U.S. State Department has classified Iran’s regime as the world’s worst state-sponsor of international terrorism. Raisi’s death, while a blow to the regime, is unlikely to result in significant changes in Iran’s aggressive policies towards the West and Israel, as the next president is expected to follow in his footsteps.
