Who will lead Iran after Raisi's death and what consequences will it have: a forecast

After the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a plane crash, the country is facing far-reaching consequences. In the near future, Vice President Mohammad Mohber will take power, and the election of a new president should take place within 50 days.

At the same time, Iran may face a new wave of protest movements. This was stated by the Middle East correspondent of the British Sky News agency Alistair Buncall.

According to him, President Raisi is the second most important person in Iran after the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. After his death, new anti-government demonstrations may break out in Iran. There are many dissident groups in Iran, including an offshoot of the Islamic State, that may try to take advantage of this situation.

The correspondent noted that Raisi was not universally popular in Iran, and he became president in 2021 only for the second time and with only a 41% turnout, the lowest since the 1979 revolution. At the same time, he predicts that Raisi will be succeeded by the elected candidate of the Supreme Leader, who will be another ultra-conservative supporter of hard-line policies.

At the same time, in the long run, the death of the Iranian president will have consequences for the Supreme Leader. Raisi was considered one of the two contenders to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after his death, the other being Khamenei's son Mojtaba.

In turn, Reuters noted that the plane crash with the president took place against the backdrop of growing disagreements within Iran over a number of political, social and economic crises. Many Iranian politicians face international pressure over Tehran's nuclear program and its military ties with Russia during the war against Ukraine.

In Iran's dual political system, divided between the clerical establishment and the government, it is the 85-year-old mentor of Raisi Khamenei, the supreme leader since 1989, who has decision-making authority on all major policy areas. For many years, Raisi was considered by many to be the main challenger to Khamenei, who supported Raisi's mainstream policies.

Raisi's victory in the carefully organized 2021 elections brought all branches of government under the control of hardliners after eight years of pragmatist Hassan Rouhani as president. However, Raisi's reputation has been undermined by mass protests against the cleric's rule and his inability to turn around Iran's economy, which has been crippled by Western sanctions.

Earlier it was reported that on May 19 in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, a helicopter carrying President Ibrahim Raisi crashed. He was also accompanied by Imam of Friday Prayer Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

As a reminder, the crash site of the helicopter on board which President Ibrahim Raisi crashed on May 19 was discovered in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan. The board completely burned down after a hard landing in the mountains, and all passengers were killed. Dozens of rescue teams were sent there.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi is known as an ally of Russian dictator Putin and the Hamas terrorist organization. He declared his readiness to be a "mediator" between Russia and Ukraine and congratulated the militants on their "victory" over Israel.

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