Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash that occurred in a mountainous and forested region of the country amid poor weather conditions.
Raisi, 63, had been serving as president for nearly three years and was expected to seek re-election next year. Known for his conservative and hardline stance, he was previously considered a potential successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's 85-year-old supreme leader.
Born in Mashhad, a key religious center in northeastern Iran, Raisi pursued religious studies in Qom, where he was mentored by prominent scholars, including Khamenei. Like the supreme leader, Raisi wore a black turban, indicating his status as a sayyid, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, which holds special significance among Twelver Shia Muslims.
Raisi's career included extensive experience as a prosecutor in various regions before moving to Tehran in 1985. Human rights organizations have accused him of being part of a judicial committee responsible for the execution of political prisoners in the capital.
He was also a long-standing member of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for selecting the supreme leader's successor. In 2014, Khamenei appointed him as the head of the Astan Quds Razavi, a massive charitable trust with substantial assets, which oversees the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia imam.
Raisi first ran for president in 2017 but lost to incumbent Hassan Rouhani. In 2019, he was appointed head of the judiciary by Khamenei, positioning himself as a defender of justice and an anti-corruption crusader. He was elected president in 2021 amid low voter turnout and the disqualification of many reformist and moderate candidates.
Throughout his political career, Raisi was known for his harsh rhetoric against Israel and the United States, often condemning their actions and policies. Following the recent conflict in Gaza, he made numerous speeches denouncing Israeli actions and called for international intervention.
Raisi was also a staunch supporter of Iran’s "resistance" policy, championing the country’s strategic stance against severe sanctions imposed after the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal. A close ally of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), he backed Iran's support for various political and armed groups in the region, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. He was a strong supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war.
President Raisi's unexpected death marks a significant moment in Iranian politics, as the country navigates internal and external challenges amidst ongoing regional tensions.
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