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A rescue team works following the crash of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, on May 20. West Asia News Agency/ReutersThe chief of staff for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has revealed new details about the hours after the presidential helicopter went missing. "However, the president's helicopter, which was flying between the two others, suddenly disappeared," Esmaili added, as cited by Mher news. The pilot circled around to search for the president's helicopter, he said. "Pilots of the two other helicopters had contacted Captain Mostafavi, who was in charge of the president's helicopter," he said.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Gholam Hossein Esmaili, Esmaili, Raisi's, Esmail, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Mostafavi, Mohammad Ali Alehashem, Alehashem Organizations: West Asia News Agency, Reuters, Iran's, Mehr, Mehr News, Iranian, Pilots Locations: Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, Azerbaijan, Varzeghan —, Abdollahian
One familiar name stood out to US officials: the new acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani. Just last week in Oman, Kani was part of a delegation of senior Iranian officials that met indirectly with US officials, current and former officials said. In the wake of the death of so many of his top officials, US officials believe that Khamenei will work to ensure that replacements adhere to his hardline worldview. “It’s difficult to see there will be any major changes in the way Iran behaves on the world stage,” a senior administration official said. In talks with Iranian officials in Oman last week, US officials once again laid out for their counterparts the consequences of Iran’s destabilizing actions, behavior and policies, according to the senior administration official and a US official.
Persons: Ali Bagheri Kani, Kani, Biden, Ebrahim Raisi, Ali Khamenei, Raisi, Jonathan Panikoff, ” Khamenei, Khamenei, , Panikoff, , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Vahid, , Matt Miller Organizations: CNN, US, Supreme, Experts, Tehran ”, State Department Locations: Iran, United States, Oman, Gaza, Washington, Tehran, Israel, Kani
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe Middle East finds itself 'stuck between Israel and Iran,' author saysKim Ghattas, author of "Black Wave," says Arab states find themselves stuck between Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei "clinging to power at the expense of their own countries."
Persons: Kim Ghattas, Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran's, Ayatollah Khamenei Organizations: Israel's Locations: Israel, Iran
Those groups — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, multiple militias in Iraq and Hamas in the Palestinian territories — are central to Iran’s ability to wield influence far beyond its borders despite being under strict economic sanctions for decades. Iran works with these groups through the Quds Force, a division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. answers directly to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not to the government run by the president. On Tuesday morning, Iran-linked groups in Iraq announced that they had launched a strike at a base in Israel. It was as if Iran’s allies were signaling that it was business as usual by making the kinds of attacks that have become commonplace in recent months.
Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, , Parsi Organizations: Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraq, Quincy Institute, Responsible Locations: Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanese, Israel
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, performed funeral prayers on Wednesday for the country’s president who was killed in a helicopter crash, as thousands of Iranians packed the streets of Tehran on an official day of mourning. The president, Ebrahim Raisi, 63, was killed along with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, 60, and five others traveling with them on Sunday. Funeral observances began on Tuesday with a procession in Tabriz, the closest big city to the crash site in northwestern Iran. Iran’s security forces implemented tight restrictions on vehicle movement and parking in the area where funeral processions would begin, the Tehran police chief, Col. Abdolfazl Mousavipour, told state television overnight. State television also reported that public transportation would be free on Wednesday — declared a national holiday — to enable people to attend the funeral.
Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Raisi, Abdolfazl Mousavipour, Organizations: Tehran police, University of Tehran Locations: Tehran, Tabriz, Iran, Qom
CNN —Funeral ceremonies are set to begin on Tuesday for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, as authorities probe what caused the aircraft to smash into the side of a remote mountainside during foggy weather on Sunday morning. A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi takes off on May 19, 2024, before the crash took place. There is no indication what might have caused the crash – and why so many senior Iranian government officials were traveling in a single, decades-old helicopter. A high-ranking delegation will go to the crash site in Eastern Azerbaijan, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. Inside Iran, where many of the country’s restive youth population have grown tired of rule by conservative clerics, Raisi had a much more polarizing legacy.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Khamenei, Mohsen Mansouri, Ali Hamed Haghdoust, Mansouri, Reza, Khamenei, , , Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Uraloglu, Iran’s, , Ayatollah Khamenei —, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong, Kim, Xi, Raisi’s, Azin, ” Xi, Putin, Russia, ” Raisi, Raisi Organizations: CNN, Wana News Agency, Reuters, Mehr, Iranian, Turkish Transportation, Infrastructure, TRT, Moj News Agency, AP, Kremlin, US Locations: Tabriz, Iran, Qom, Tehran, Mashhad, Turkey, Turkish, Eastern Azerbaijan, Israel, Korean, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, China, North Korea, Russia, Iranian
Oil storage drums stacked in the Keihin industrial area of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, April 15, 2024. Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Tuesday, with investors anticipating higher-for-longer U.S. inflation and interest rates will depress consumer and industrial demand. "Fears of weaker demand led to selling as the prospect of Fed rate cut became more distant," said analyst Toshitaka Tazawa at Fujitomi Securities. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs, freeing up funds which could boost economic growth and demand for oil. OPEC+ could extend some voluntary output cuts if demand fails to pick up, people with knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters.
Persons: Toshitaka Tazawa, Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr, Raphael Bostic, Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mohammed Bin Salman, Fujitomi's Tazawa Organizations: Brent, . West Texas, Federal, Fujitomi Securities, Atlanta Fed, Reuters, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Iranian, Investors, Organization of, Petroleum Locations: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, Saudi, OPEC
For decades, Iran’s leaders could point to high voter turnouts in their elections as proof of the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic’s political system. He could ensure that the presidential elections, which the Constitution mandates must happen within 50 days after Mr. Raisi’s death, are open to all, from hard-liners to reformists. Or he can repeat his strategy of recent elections, and block not only reformist rivals but even moderate, loyal opposition figures. That choice might leave him facing the embarrassment of even lower voter turnout, a move that would be interpreted as a stinging rebuke of his increasingly authoritarian state. Voter turnout in Iran has been on a downward trajectory in the last several years.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Ali Khamenei, Raisi’s Locations: Iran
Iran Begins Funeral Events for President Raisi
  + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
Funeral events for Iran’s president and foreign minister began in northwestern Iran on Tuesday as investigators looked into the helicopter crash that killed them and the country grappled with the shock of losing two of its most prominent leaders at a volatile moment. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has announced five days of mourning for the president, Ebrahim Raisi, 63, and the foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, 60, who died when their helicopter plunged into a mountainous area near the Iranian city of Jolfa on Sunday. The state news media said the crash had resulted from a “technical failure.” Iran’s Armed Forces said it had begun an investigation and sent a team to the site. Some people held photographs of Mr. Raisi; the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported that the country’s interior minister and acting president had been spotted in the crowd. He had been widely viewed as a potential successor to Ayatollah Khamenei, 85.
Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Raisi, Amir Abdollahian, Ayatollah Khamenei Organizations: Iran’s, Forces Locations: Iran, Iranian, Jolfa, Tabriz
CNN —Even before Iran’s army chief Mohammad Bagheri ordered an investigation into the helicopter crash that cost the Islamic Republic the lives of two of its top politicians, blame was being laid at America’s door. People mourn the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash the previous day, at Valiasr Square, on May 20, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. The next question might be, knowing the weather was bad and having three helicopters on the journey, why put both president and foreign minister in the same aircraft? Former Foreign Minister Zarif would want the world to believe Iran’s technological core has been hollowed out by US sanctions, but that allegation too is tainted by hubris. Iran’s presidents are not idle, they need to go places.
Persons: Mohammad Bagheri, Ebrahim Raisi, Javad Zarif acidly, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Raisi –, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, Malek Rahmati, Mohammed Ali Alehashem –, Ilham Aliyav, Majid Saeedi, Yemen’s Houthis, AKINCI, Ali Khamenei, , Russia –, Zarif, Raisi Organizations: CNN, Islamic, Bell, Turkish Transport, Revolutionary Guard Corps, Former Locations: Islamic Republic, America’s, United States, Iran, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Tabriz, Tehran, Turkish, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey
People attend funeral ceremony, held for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his senior officials died in a helicopter crash, in Tabriz, Iran on May 21, 2024. Thousands of mourners descended on Tabriz on Tuesday for a funeral ceremony honoring Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who perished in a helicopter crash over the weekend, leaving an indelible void in the country's leadership succession plans. Some mourners are shown brandishing photographs of Raisi, while others trooped behind lines awaiting the procession. Services for Raisi will be held between Tuesday and Thursday in Tabriz, Qom, Birjand and Iranian capital Tehran. "Our honorable Raisi worked tirelessly," Khamenei said on the X social media platform on Monday.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, IRNA, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi, Khamenei, Butcher, Mahsa, Amirabdolahian, Bashar Assad Organizations: Iranian, Islamic Republic News Agency, CNBC, Raisi, Human Rights Watch, Palestinian, Hamas Locations: Tabriz, Iran, Qom, Birjand, Tehran, Mashhad, Azerbaijan, East, Israel
Rescue teams' vehicles are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, on May 19. It has also brought a decades-long shadow war between Iran and Israel out into the open. But the proxy war continues with Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah continuing to fight Israel’s forces. The powers of Iran's president are ultimately dwarfed by those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the final arbiter of domestic and foreign affairs in the Islamic Republic. That means Iran's clerical establishment, headed by Khamenei, must now find a new leader they can throw their support behind against a backdrop of intense regional insecurity and domestic discontent.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Azin, Israel —, Israel, Mahsa, Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, , Mohammad Mokhbar —, Khamenei Organizations: Moj News Agency, Hamas, Revolutionary Guards, United Locations: Varzaghan, Iran, Gaza, Israel, Damascus, Iranian, Isfahan, United Nations, Islamic Republic
The President of Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi during the meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres UN Headquarters. Lev Radin | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesThe sudden death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash plunges Tehran into fresh uncertainty at a time when it already faces deep economic decline, popular discontent, and war. The helicopter carrying President Raisi suffered a hard landing on Sunday while returning from Azerbaijan in poor weather conditions, Iranian state media reported on Monday. "That interim presidency ... [is] going to potentially pave the way for even more IRGC control over policies." "When it comes to the relationship with the U.S., and likely [with] Israel, nothing is really going to change there.
Persons: Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Antonio Guterres, Lev Radin, Lightrocket, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Yemen's, Ayatollah Khamenei, Mohammed Mokhber, Nader Itayim, Itayim, Joe Biden Organizations: Islamic, Antonio Guterres UN, Iran's, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, Guardian Council, Argus Media, U.S, Palestinian Locations: Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Azerbaijan, Lebanese, Iran, Mideast, Israel, U.S, Gaza
Read previewIranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died after a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran, multiple news agencies reported, citing Iranian state media. Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi told IRNA, Iran's state-run news agency, that a helicopter carrying Raisi and other senior Iranian officials was forced to make a "hard landing" on Sunday, without providing further details. Related storiesIran's foreign minister, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, and other officials were also on board the helicopter. Raisi is considered a "hard-liner" and a "protégé" of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi has led Iran through heightened tensions in the region, including the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Persons: , Ebrahim Raisi, Ahmed Vahidi, IRNA, Mohammad Mokhber, Al, Mokhber, Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Organizations: Service, Business, Raisi, Associated Press, Iranian, United, United States Institute of Peace Locations: Iran, Iran's, Iran's East Azerbaijan province, Azerbaijan's, Al Jazeera, Israel, Gaza, Iranian, Damascus, United States, Russia, Ukraine
With the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, becomes acting president. Mr. Mokhber is a conservative political operative with a long history of involvement in large business conglomerates closely tied to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a statement on Monday, Mr. Khamenei said that Mr. Mokhber must work with the heads of the legislature and judiciary to hold elections for a new president within 50 days. Vice presidents in Iran are typically low profile, operating more as players within the government than as public figures. “Iran’s vice presidents have traditionally not been contenders to succeed their bosses,” said Robin Wright, a joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Wilson Center in Washington.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s, Mohammad Mokhber, Mokhber, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, , , Robin Wright Organizations: U.S . Institute of Peace, Wilson Center Locations: Iran, Washington
The sudden death of Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, opens a new chapter of instability just as the increasingly unpopular Islamic Republic is engaged in selecting its next supreme leader. Mr. Raisi, 63, had been considered a prime candidate, especially favored by the powerful Revolutionary Guards. Even before the helicopter crash that killed Mr. Raisi, the regime had been consumed with internal political struggles as the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East, is in declining health. But given the Islamic Republic is facing internal protests, a weak economy, endemic corruption and tensions with Israel, analysts expect little change in Iran’s foreign or domestic policies. Ayatollah Khamenei has set the direction for the country, and any new president will not alter it much.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Mr, Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, , Ali Vaez Organizations: Revolutionary Guards, Crisis Locations: Republic, Islamic Republic, Israel, Iran
CNN —Once seen as a likely successor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, President Ebrahim Raisi has died in office, leaving the Islamic Republic’s hardline establishment facing an uncertain future. An ultraconservative president, 63-year-old Raisi was killed Sunday, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other high-ranking officials, in a helicopter crash in Iran’s remote northwest. Raisi’s death has raised questions about who will eventually succeed Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful man in the country. According to the constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts picks the successor to the Supreme Leader after his death. “(This) definitely throws all the plans that offices of the Supreme Leader probably had out the window,” Vaez told CNN’s Paula Newton.
Persons: CNN —, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amir, growingly restive, ” Ali Vaez, Power, Mohammad Mokhber, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, , Hassan Rouhani, ” Parsi, ” Vaez, ” Iran's, Iran’s, Khamenei, Azin, AP “ Ebrahim Raisi’s, ” Karim Sadjadpour, Leader’s, Mojtaba Khamanei, Sadjadpour, Vaez, CNN’s Paula Newton, Islamic Republic ” Organizations: CNN, Iran’s, Islamic, Foreign, IRI, Group, Experts, Quincy Institute, Responsible, Revolutionary Guards, Iran's, Observers, Iran’s Guardian Council, Guardian Council, Moj News Agency, AP, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran, Islamic Republic, Washington ,, Tehran, Iranian, Raisi, Varzaghan
Yet Mojtaba Khamenei has a powerful influence over a country that rarely sees or hears him. For years, the son of Iran’s supreme leader has been speculated to be a potential candidate to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. That speculation has grown with the death of Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, who many analysts said was being groomed to replace the supreme leader, who is 85. Mr. Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash on Sunday will not only trigger new presidential elections. Mr. Khamenei, 55, is the second son of the ayatollah’s six children.
Persons: Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi’s, Khamenei’s, , Arash Azizi, he’s, Azizi, Mr, Khamenei Organizations: Clemson University, Revolutionary Guards Locations: Iran, Islamic Republic
Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s president, was killed yesterday in a helicopter crash along with the country’s foreign minister. A conservative Shiite Muslim cleric, Raisi had a hand in brutal crackdowns on opponents of the Islamic Republic, and he was widely viewed as a possible successor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Now there’s also anxiety about what’s going to happen in the future.”Politically, little is likely to change in the short term. Khamenei sets the tone, and the next president will all but certainly follow his lead. Raisi’s death added to the speculation that Khamenei’s son, an invisible but powerful figure, could become the next supreme leader.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Iran’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, , Khamenei, it’s, Farnaz Fassihi, there’s Organizations: State Locations: Islamic Republic, Iran, Israel
Iran sought to project a sense of order and control on Monday by quickly naming an acting president and foreign minister a day after a helicopter crash killed both leaders. The change in leadership came at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East and domestic discontent in Iran, where many residents have called for an end to decades of repressive clerical rule. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced five days of mourning for the president, Ebrahim Raisi, 63, and the foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, 60, who died when their helicopter plunged into a mountainous area near the Iranian city of Jolfa. The men had been returning from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan after inaugurating a joint dam project. He had been widely viewed as a possible successor to Ayatollah Khamenei, 85.
Persons: Iran’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Mr, Raisi, Ayatollah Khamenei Organizations: Iran’s Armed Forces Locations: Iran, Iranian, Jolfa, Iran’s, Azerbaijan
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a meeting with the cabinet in Tehran, Iran, October 8, 2023. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state media reported Monday. Iranian state television reported there was "no sign of life" at the crash site of the helicopter that carried Raisi, Amirabdollahian, and others. "All the passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred," semi-official news agency Mehr News reported. "The overall outline of Iranian foreign policy is not likely to change significantly."
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Ali Ahmadi, CNBC's, Raisi, Malik Rahmati, Affairs Mohsen Mansouri, Pirhossein Koulivand, Ayatollah Khamenei Organizations: Mehr News, FARS News Agency, Geneva Center for Security, Communication, Affairs, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Tehran, Iran, FARS, Azerbaijan Republic, Iran's, East Azerbaijan's, Tabriz, Turkey, Russia
Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s president and a top contender to succeed the nation’s supreme leader, was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash. A conservative Shiite Muslim cleric who had a hand in some of the most brutal crackdowns on opponents of the Islamic Republic, Mr. Raisi was a protégé of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a devoted upholder of religious rule in the country. Mr. Raisi’s presidency was shaped by two major events: the 2022 nationwide uprising, led by women and girls, demanding the end to the Islamic Republic’s rule and the government’s brutal crushing of that movement; and the current Middle East war with Israel, with which it had a long history of clandestine attacks. As the president under Iran’s political system, Mr. Raisi did not set the country’s nuclear or regional policy. But he inherited a government that was steadily expanding its regional influence through a network of proxy militia groups and a nuclear program that was rapidly advancing to weapons-grade uranium enrichment levels following the United States’ exit from a nuclear deal.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi’s Locations: Islamic Republic, Israel, States
Read previewA helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other senior Iranian officials "crashed upon landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without providing further details. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran's border with Azerbaijan when his helicopter crashed upon landing. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, Malik Rahmati, and other officials were on board the helicopter, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Video footage from the crash site reveals the state of the weather conditions. AdvertisementUPDATE - First images of #Iran president's helicopter's area of crash landing, weather conditions unfavourable for flying, search and rescue efforts underway.
Persons: , Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Malik Rahmati, IRNA, UMQ1tVZzw0, Ali Khamenei Organizations: Service, Republic News Agency, Business, Iranian, Associated Press, Nagorno Karabakh Observer, Iran's Locations: Azerbaijan, Jolfa, Tehran, Iran's, Iran's East Azerbaijan, Iran, Nagorno, Iran's East Azerbaijan province, Iraq, Israel
A helicopter with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on board "crashed upon landing" on Sunday, state media reported, with weather conditions complicating rescue efforts. "President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran's border with Azerbaijan when his helicopter crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region," it said. Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, was also traveling in the helicopter, along with East Azerbaijan's governor, Malik Rahmati, and Raisi's security detail, it said. State TV IRIB said the helicopter belonged to the Iranian Red Crescent, which Iran's interior minister Ahmad Vahidi said was part of a convoy. Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, IRNA, Raisi, Hossein Amir, Malik Rahmati, IRIB, Ahmad Vahidi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Yemen's Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, East, East Azerbaijan province —, Iran's, Hamas, Hezbollah Locations: New York City, U.S, East Azerbaijan province, Tehran —, Azerbaijan, Varzaqan, Iran, Tehran, Iraq, Raisi, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza
Who Is President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran?
  + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Emma Bubola | More About Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
Ebrahim Raisi, 63, a hard-line religious cleric, was elected president of Iran in 2021. In his tenure as president, he has overseen a strategy to expand his country’s regional influence — backing militant proxies across the Middle East, expediting the country’s nuclear program and bringing the country to the brink of war with Israel. But in the same period, Iran experienced its largest antigovernment protests in decades and a severe economic downturn driven by international sanctions and high unemployment. Mr. Raisi has been seen as the likely successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, the highest political and religious position in the Islamic republic. Mr. Raisi, born in the eastern city of Mashhad in 1960 to a devoutly religious family, was swept up in the fervor of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, which toppled the country’s monarchy in 1979.
Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Ali Khamenei Locations: Iran, Israel, Mashhad
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