Ebrahim Raisi helicopter crash:Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, 63, has died in a helicopter crash while traveling in East Azerbaijan province. The accident occurred in a mountainous, forested area during adverse weather conditions. Raisi, a significant figure in Iran’s conservative and hardline political factions, had served nearly three years as president and was preparing for a potential re-election bid next year.
Born in Mashhad, Raisi received his religious education in Qom, studying under prominent scholars including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Known for wearing a black turban, he was recognized as a sayyid, indicating his descent from the Prophet Muhammad, which holds special significance among Twelver Shia Muslims.
Raisi’s career began as a prosecutor in various jurisdictions before he moved to Tehran in 1985. Human rights organizations allege that during this period, he was involved in a committee of judges responsible for the executions of political prisoners. Raisi was also a long-standing member of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for selecting the supreme leader’s successor.
In 2014, he was appointed attorney general and later led the Astan Quds Razavi, a wealthy charitable trust managing the shrine of Imam Reza, under Khamenei’s appointment. After an unsuccessful presidential run in 2017 against Hassan Rouhani, Raisi became the head of Iran’s judiciary in 2019, gaining a reputation as a fighter against corruption and a champion of justice through his provincial visits.
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Raisi assumed the presidency in 2021 amid low voter turnout and the disqualification of many reformist and moderate candidates. He was known for his harsh rhetoric against Israel and the United States, frequently condemning their actions and calling for international intervention.
Following the Gaza war in October, Raisi strongly criticized Israel for alleged atrocities against Palestinians and vowed revenge after an Israeli attack on Tehran’s consulate in Syria, which killed several IRGC members. Iran responded by launching numerous drones and missiles at Israel, though most were intercepted.
Raisi was a firm supporter of Iran’s “resistance” policy, advocating for resilience against severe sanctions imposed after the 2018 collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA). A close ally of the IRGC, Raisi also backed the “axis of resistance” comprising political and armed groups across the region, including those in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. He was a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad throughout the Syrian civil war.