Iran
Iran: Student Activist's Death In Prison A Mystery
Some leaders of the 1999 student protests speaking to reporters in Tehran on July 20, 1999 (epa) A former Iranian student-protest leader has died in Evin prison, which houses many of the country's jailed dissidents. Reports from Tehran say 36-year-old Akbar Mohammadi died on July 30, several days after authorities say he launched a hunger strike in a bid to win his release. The cause of death remains unclear, but at least one source suggests that Mohammadi began his hunger strike some two months ago.
The news was soon confirmed by Sohrad Soleimani, the head of Tehran Province's prison authority.
Soleimani told Iran's ISNA student news agency that Mohammadi fell ill while showering with other inmates, then died during his transfer to the prison infirmary.
Soleimani did not elaborate on the cause of death, saying coroners have not yet reached a conclusion.
Resolute In Seeking Release
Reports suggest Mohammadi had been on hunger strike since July 23. But a fellow inmate -- another former dissident student -- told Reuters today that Mohammadi launched his protest in May in a bid to secure his release.
A student covers her face during a demonstration in Tehran on July 11, 1999 (AFP)
"A few days prior to going on hunger strike, [Mohammadi] called me and told me he would stop taking food, and stand [firm] until the end," Ahmadi said.
Reuters today quoted Iranian Justice Minister Jamal Karimirad as saying that Mohammadi was under close medical supervision and that his health deteriorated on July 30.
A friend of Mohammadi's, who identified himself as Morad Moallem, told Radio Farda that prison authorities tried forcibly to feed Mohammadi -- but to no avail.
"After five days of hunger strike, they took him to the [prison] infirmary in a possible bid to make him a serum injection, but he resisted and did not let them [inject the serum]," the acquaintance said. "He subsequently understood that the reason for [the injections] was that some parliamentarians were going to visit the prison. They had taken him to the infirmary so that [the parliamentarians] would not see him. They put tape on his mouth so that those parliamentarians could not even hear him, and they bound his hands and feed to his bed."
1999 Protest Leader
A student in social sciences, Mohammadi was arrested during the peaceful protests of 1999 that are considered to have fueled one of Iran's biggest domestic crises since the Islamic revolution two decades earlier.
The student protests were primarily aimed at restrictions on freedom of the press.
Clashes between protesters and members of the Iranian security forces -- reinforced by the pro-government vigilante student group Ansar-e Hezbollah -- claimed at least one life. Hundreds of protesters were arrested, and many received court sentences.
In September 1999, Tehran's Revolutionary Court sentenced Mohammadi to death after a trial that rights group say was unfair. Although Iran's Supreme Court upheld the sentence in 2000, it was eventually commuted to 15 years in jail -- reportedly following the intervention of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Two other leaders of the 1999 student protests, Ahmad Batebi and Ali Shafei, were sentenced to death along with Mohammadi. Their sentences were commuted to 10 years and 2 1/2 years in jail, respectively.
Accusations Of Abuse
Rights group say Mohammadi was tortured during his detention, and that it seriously damaged his health. He was reportedly suffering from kidney ailments and hearing problems.
Students demonstrating in Tehran on May 9, 1999 (AFP)
On July 25, Bahramian told Iran's ILNA news agency that Mohammadi's brother, Manuchehr, was also in poor health.
Manuchehr Mohammadi is serving a 15-year prison sentence in another Tehran prison. He, too, was arrested in the wake of the 1999 student protests.
(Radio Farda correspondent Niusha Boghrati contributed to this report.)
Women In Iran
Women in Tehran (epa file photo)
CALLING FOR MORE RIGHTS: Although women played key roles in Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the place of women in post-revolutionary society has been a vexing question. Iranian women have struggled to bring attention to their calls for greater rights in their country's rigid theocratic system, calls that have often clashed with the values proclaimed by conservatives in society. (more)
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Turkey Claims Its Drone Was Instrumental In Finding Wreckage Of Iranian Helicopter
Turkey says its Akinci drone deserves more credit for helping to locate the wreckage of the Iranian helicopter that crashed in a remote and mountainous area of Iran on May 19, killing President Ebrahim Raisi and other top Iranian officials, according to Turkish media reports on May 22.
The reports say that the Akinci drone was first to find the site of the wreckage and accused Iran of changing its narrative about the use of the Turkish equipment after it provided information about the location of the wreckage and then made counterclaims that its own drone found the site.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this week that the Akinci drone was sent at the request of the Iranian government.
According to Erdogan, despite the bad weather conditions the drone was able to conduct search operations in the region for seven and a half hours and fly a total of 2,100 kilometers.
After the Turkish drone identified the helicopter wreckage and detected heat sources believed to be the crash site in Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province, the Iranian search team successfully located the downed helicopter and the bodies of Raisi and the others in the mountainous terrain, according to Turkish media reports.
However, Iran rejected the notion that there was foreign participation in the search operation despite data from the Turkish drone that revealed the coordinates of the crash, and confirmation of this data by some Iranian news agencies.
After the Akinci drone captured images of the wreckage using its night vision and thermal camera and released them on the Internet, Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, called foreign participation in the search a rumor.
“We did not stop the search in the dark, fog, and rain, and when we discovered the wreckage of the helicopter with our own drone, we moved to the exact place where the helicopter fell," Kolivand said.
He claimed that rescuers from the Red Crescent found the wreckage at an altitude of 2,500 meters and "it took 40 minutes from the time of finding the wreckage of the helicopter to reaching the accident site.”
But during the overnight search, the Red Crescent said in a statement at around 4 a.m. local time on May 20 that after the Turkish drone identified two potential “hot spots” the Red Crescent rescue teams headed toward the sites.
The head of the East Azerbaijan Red Crescent also cited the Turkish drone report that a “burning spot” had been detected and said rescue forces were sent to that area.
The head of Turkey, Asia, and Indo-Pacific studies at the Institute for International Relations and Strategic Research (ULISA) said in an opinion piece published by the state news agency Anadolu that the drone’s role in finding the wreckage site demonstrated the need to recognize Turkey’s commitment to fulfilling its humanitarian responsibilities through its defense capacity.
Professor M. Nazmul Islam said that, after Iran accepted Turkey’s offer to send the drone, the Akinci took off from a Turkish base at around 11:30 p.m. local time and began searching nearly an hour later. Turkey claims that it transmitted the image of the wreckage of the helicopter at 3:06 a.m. Iranian time and shared the coordinates with the Iranian authorities.
But according to Iranian media accounts, an Iranian drone belonging to the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps found the remains of the helicopter at around 5:30 a.m. local time.
A statement issued by Iran's military said that, despite Turkey sending a drone equipped with night vision and thermal cameras, it "failed to accurately locate the crash site due to its lack of detection equipment and control points below the cloud," referring to the adverse weather conditions.
Iran Radio reported that it was “five o'clock in the morning when the correct coordinates were finally found with Iranian equipment and Iranian relief forces.”
Iran, whose military has its own drone program, was not able to deploy its drones because they were located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean at the time, the Iranian military said. Western powers have accused Iran of providing drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
With reporting by Anadolu and Reuters
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda,
- AP and
- Reuters
New Pictures And Account Emerge Of Raisi Crash As Thousands Attend Funeral
As thousands attended a funeral procession in Tehran, new images and an official account of the final flight of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi have emerged. Raisi and seven others died when their helicopter crashed in northwestern Iran on May 19.
Khamenei Prays Over Coffins At Funeral For Raisi, Others Killed In Helicopter Crash
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers in Tehran at the funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on May 22 as thousands attended a procession for Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials killed in a helicopter crash over the weekend.
Khamenei presided over the start of the ceremony at a time of deepening crisis between the country's Islamic leadership and many citizens over a lack of freedoms and declining living standards. He delivered a traditional "death prayer" for Raisi and then left the ceremony without giving a speech.
Khamenei delivered a traditional "death prayer" for Raisi at the ceremony on May 22, three days after the accident in a remote, mountainous area of the country's northwest. Khamenei then left without giving a speech.
Crowds reached out to touch the caskets during the procession as Iran's acting president, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, stood nearby.
Besides Iran's top leaders, including the chiefs of the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, several foreign dignitaries attended, including Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, and a delegation from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi.
No Western leaders attended. Three former Iranian presidents -- Mohammad Khatami, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Rohani -- were also not seen among dignitaries in attendance.
After the ceremony, the caskets of Raisi and the other victims of the crash were carried out on the shoulders of people onto a platform truck amid chants of "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" from the crowds.
Some reports said Tehran residents received mobile phone messages urging them to attend the funeral procession, which headed toward Freedom Square in central Tehran.
The caskets were draped in Iranian flags with pictures of the deceased on them, while on Raisi's casket, a black turban was placed to mark his alleged direct descendance from Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
Although Egypt and Iran do not have diplomatic relations, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to Tehran to attend the funeral. Tehran and Cairo have recently floated the possibility of reestablishing relations, which were cut after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was to attend the memorial service, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, was also seen in live footage as attending. Iran has armed and supported Hamas during the ongoing war with Israel in Gaza. Sheikh Naim Qassem, the deputy leader of Hizballah, Iran's Lebanese proxy, was also present.
A presidential election to determine Raisi's successor was announced for June 28. The election is to be organized by a council consisting of the speaker of parliament, the head of the judiciary, and the first vice president.
According to Iranian media, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani was appointed acting foreign minister.
WATCH: A woman who lost 11 relatives in executions in 1988 told RFE/RL that she was celebrating Raisi's death. Raisi was accused of being on a "death committee" that ordered mass executions at the time.
The ceremonies marking the deaths of those involved in the crash started on May 21 with tens of thousands of mourners in attendance in the city of Tabriz, the capital of Iran's northwestern province of East Azerbaijan where the crash occurred, and the Shi'ite clerical center of Qom.
Beyond the official display of public grief, many Iranians who have been victims of acts of repression by Raisi and the Iranian regime or had relatives who suffered from such acts were adamant in voicing their satisfaction at Raisi's death.
A woman who lost 11 relatives, including two daughters, in executions allegedly coordinated by Raisi in 1988 told RFE/RL that she was celebrating his death.
"Truly, I cannot express how limitless my happiness is," Esman Vatanparast said. "When Raisi became president, it was very difficult for us hurting mothers, the survivors of the massacres committed by him."
The White House, too, had harsh words for Raisi.
U.S. national-security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that "no question, this was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands" for supporting extremist groups in the Middle East.
U.S. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Raisi's rule was "barbaric" and marked by "terror, danger, and oppression."
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and had tightened many restrictions on Iranians through the enforcement of morality laws and a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code on head scarves.
Thousands of people, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, athletes, and artists have been arrested and at least 500 people have been killed in Iran's brutal crackdown on the protests.
Raisi also pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers while also allowing the country to markedly increase its uranium enrichment program.
The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the death of Raisi has pushed back nuclear negotiations to improve Iran's cooperation with the agency.
"Now Iran is in a period of mourning and it should be respected, but when this period is over, we want to re-engage with Iran to improve cooperation," Rafael Grossi said on May 22 in Helsinki.
With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
- By AFP
Director Mohammad Rasoulof, Who Fled Iran, Will Attend Cannes
Film director Mohammad Rasoulof, who made a dramatic on-foot escape from Iran, will attend the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, organizers told AFP on May 21. The award-winning director will be on the French Cote d'Azur on May 24 when The Seed Of The Sacred Fig competes for the top prize Palme d'Or, festival director Thierry Fremaux said. An outspoken critic of the Iranian government, Rasoulof served two terms in Iranian jails over previous films and had his passport revoked in 2017. His new film tells the story of a judge's struggles amid political unrest in Tehran. He had come under pressure from the Iranian government to withdraw it from Cannes before the festival opened.
'A Symbol Of Murder Gone': Families Of Victims Of Mass Executions Express Relief After Iranian President's Death
Esmat Vatanparast lost 11 members of her extended family during the mass executions of political prisoners and regime opponents in Iran in the 1980s.
For the last three decades, the elderly Vatanparast has been grieving and seeking justice for the deaths of her family members, including her two daughters and three brothers.
On May 19, when President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran, Vatanparast says she obtained a semblance of justice.
Raisi allegedly played a role in the estimated execution of at least 5,000 members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), students, and leftist political parties and groups during the summer of 1988.
"My happiness has no limits," Vatanparast, who fled to Sweden after the massacre, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda on May 20, the day Raisi's death was confirmed. "Today is a beautiful day for the people of Iran."
Raisi, known as the "butcher of Tehran," was accused of serving as a prosecutor on a "death committee" that ordered the executions. Many were executed in prisons, including in the Iranian capital's notorious Evin prison.
Vatanparast said it was "very difficult" for the families of the victims of the massacre to witness the rise of Raisi, a former judiciary chief who became president following a controversial election in 2021.
"I want to congratulate all the mothers and fathers whose children were killed by the Islamic republic and couldn't say or do anything," said Vatanparast, who is in her 80s.
The mass killing was ordered by the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
In a fatwa, or religious decree, Khomeini declared that "apostates" and those who had taken up arms against the Islamic republic were "waging war against God" and should be sentenced to death. Some estimates of those executed run into the tens of thousands.
The fatwa was issued in the last days of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, during which members of the MKO switched sides and fought alongside Iraqi forces.
Only one Iranian has been convicted and jailed over the mass executions. Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian prison official, was sentenced to life in prison in Sweden in 2022 for his role in the massacre.
'Death Of This Executioner'
Mehdi Aslani was a former member of the leftist Fadayian-e Khalq organization who served time in Gohardasht prison near Tehran and Evin prison.
Aslani survived the mass executions in 1988 and then fled to Germany. He testified during Nouri's trial in Sweden.
"I'm happy at this moment because a symbol of murder is gone," the former political prisoner told Radio Farda. "I would be lying if I said the news of the death of this executioner did not bring me joy."
As rescue teams were still searching for the wreckage of Raisi's helicopter, videos emerged on social media showing fireworks going off at night in what appeared to be celebrations.
Mihan Rusta, whose husband was among those executed in 1988, says the celebrations were the result of decades of anger and pain.
Celebrating a death may "not be humane," she said, but it is to be expected when "you've been under pressure" for years.
"It's a natural and human reaction to feel a sense of relief when circumstances intervene when you couldn't," Rusta told Radio Farda.
Like many other family members of the victims of the mass executions, Rusta bemoaned that Raisi's death meant that he would evade justice for his alleged crimes.
Raisi took "part of the truth" to the grave, she said. "For those who seek justice...you will always carry this thought with you. The knowledge that you'll never know the whole truth," she added.
As president, Raisi oversaw a bloody crackdown on unprecedented antiestablishment protests in 2022 and the tightening of the country's morality laws.
Vatanparast said it would be "good for the world" for people like Raisi to go on trial. But she added, "The sooner they die...the safer people's children."
Written by Kian Sharifi based on interviews by Fereshteh Ghazi of RFE/RL's Radio Farda
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- AP
As Raisi Funeral Ceremonies Begin, Mother Of Executed Iranians Celebrates
As three days of funeral ceremonies began for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others killed in a helicopter crash, a woman who lost 11 relatives in executions in 1988 told RFE/RL that she was celebrating his death. Raisi was accused of being on a "death committee," which ordered mass executions at the time. Later, his period in office was marked by a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody.
- By AP
Iranian-Danish Director Of The Apprentice Offers To Screen Movie For Trump
Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has called The Apprentice, a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, “pure fiction” and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
But Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Following its premiere on May 19 in Cannes, Steven Cheung, Trump's campaign spokesperson, said the Trump team will be filing a lawsuit “to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers."
Abbasi said he "would offer to go and meet [Trump] wherever he wants and talk about the context of the movie, have a screening and have a chat afterwards, if that’s interesting to anyone at the Trump campaign.”
- By RFE/RL
Iranian President's Casket Arrives In Tehran As New Crash Details Emerge
The caskets of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others killed in a May 19 helicopter crash arrived in a procession with an honor guard in Tehran on May 21 ahead of a planned journey to the holy city of Qom, where additional services were scheduled for later in the day as part of a five-day mourning period declared by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Several funeral ceremonies were taking place in Iran on May 21 to mark the deaths of Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and others in the helicopter crash that occurred in northern Iran near the city of Tabriz, the capital of Iran's northwestern province of East Azerbaijan.
Following their journey to Qom, the caskets are to return late on May 21 to Tehran, where a funeral service is scheduled for May 22 presided over by Khamenei and with a procession set to follow. Ceremonies are also being held in Birjand on May 23, when Raisi will be buried at the Imam Reza Shrine in the holy city of Mashhad, Iranian media reported.
The IRNA state-run news agency posted the first footage purportedly showing the caskets of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian on X, formerly Twitter.
State television later showed large crowds gathering in Qom ahead of services there.
Khamenei also named First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as interim president. Iranian law stipulates that if the president dies, power is transferred to the first vice president.
A presidential election to determine Raisi's successor was announced for June 28. The election, which has to be held within 50 days, is to be organized by a council consisting of the speaker of parliament, the head of the judiciary, and the first vice president.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani was appointed acting foreign minister, Iranian state media reported.
After Iranian state television said on May 20 that the helicopter had crashed due to poor weather conditions, search-and-rescue teams found the bodies of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian at the site of the crash in northwest Iran.
Communication was lost while the helicopter was on its way back to Tabriz after Raisi attended the joint inauguration of a dam with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, on their common border.
On May 21, an official on another helicopter disclosed additional details of events on the day of the crash, according to a report by dpa.
Gholam Hossein Esmaili, the presidential chief of staff, told state television that upon the helicopters' departure, "the weather was cloudless, completely clear, and bright."
But he said clouds quickly emerged and that the pilot of the presidential helicopter -- flying in the center of the three-aircraft convoy -- ordered the copters to fly at a higher altitude.
Shortly afterward, the pilot of the helicopter Esmaili was traveling in realized that the Raisi craft was no longer with the others and was thought to have made an emergency landing.
The two other helicopters in the convoy circled for several minutes over the area before landing near a copper mine because of the poor conditions.
The Iranian government said the other two helicopters eventually landed safely in Tabriz.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said that all eight people aboard the Bell 212 helicopter purchased by Iran in the early 2000s were killed. Besides Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, a senior cleric from Tabriz, a Revolutionary Guards official, and three crew members were killed, according to IRNA.
The bodies from the helicopter that crashed were severely burned but not beyond recognition, according to the head of Iran's Crisis Management Organization, Mohammad Hassan Nami. He said DNA tests were not needed to confirm the identities of those killed in the crash.
He added that Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, who served as Khamenei's representative in East Azerbaijan Province, survived the crash initially and remained alive for about an hour before he died.
Nami said that, during that time, Al-e Hashem had made contact with Raisi's chief of staff by phone. He did not reveal any further details.
Meanwhile, Washington said for the first time that Tehran had asked for U.S. help in the helicopter incident but that it was unable to provide assistance, mainly due to logistical reasons.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller did not specify how the request was made or the nature of it. The United States and Iran do not have diplomatic relations.
Foreign governments on May 20 issued expressions of condolence and solidarity. Lebanon announced three days of mourning to honor Raisi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were both "true, reliable friends of our country."
Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, issued a statement of condolence and thanked Raisi for his "tireless efforts in solidarity" with the Palestinian people.
The United States -- a bitter rival of Iran that had imposed financial sanctions on Raisi when he was head of Iran's judiciary in 2019 -- also offered its condolences.
"The United States expresses its official condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran," the State Department said in a statement.
"As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The White House, nevertheless, had harsh words for Raisi, saying he had "blood on his hands" for supporting extremist groups in the Middle East.
U.S. national-security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that "no question, this was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands."
U.S. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Raisi's rule was "barbaric" and marked by "terror, danger, and oppression."
"In these fateful days, we pray for stability in the Middle East, for Iranian leaders who will seek to live at peace with their neighbors and the West, and for the day when the flag of freedom will be raised in Iran," Johnsonwrote on X.
European Council President Charles Michel issued a statement of "sincere condolences," adding "our thoughts go to the families."
Some activists criticized the EU for assisting in the rescue operation of a leader who has been accused of overseeing major human rights abuses.
But EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic defended the move on May 20, saying that, by providing satellite mapping services to Tehran, Brussels was acting "upon request for facilitating a search and rescue operation" and was not "an act of political support to any regime or establishment."
"It is simply an expression of the most basic humanity," he added in a post on X.
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and had since tightened many restrictions on Iranians through the enforcement of morality laws and a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code on head scarves.
Thousands of people, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, athletes, and artists have been arrested and at least 500 people have been killed in Iran's brutal crackdown on the protests.
Raisi also pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers while also allowing the country to markedly increase its uranium enrichment program.
With reporting by Reuters and dpa
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Will Tizard
Iran Mourns -- And Celebrates -- President's Death
The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has led to official mourning in the country, but other Iranians celebrated the passing of a man who oversaw a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in police custody in 2022.
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Reuters
Iran At Crossroads After President Killed In Helicopter Crash
A new presidential election must be held in Iran within 50 days following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19, according to the country's constitution. Chatham House's Sanam Vakil says the candidates permitted to run -- be they ultraconservatives or more conciliatory figures who are better able to connect with the public -- will reveal the regime's political priorities.
Iranian Nobel Laureate Ebadi Says Raisi's Death Means He Will Evade Justice
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has said that the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was regrettable because he will evade justice for his alleged crimes.
Raisi, who died in a May 19 helicopter crash in northwestern Iran, has been accused of serving as a prosecutor on an "execution committee" that sent thousands of political prisoners and regime opponents to their deaths in the late 1980s.
His presidency, which began in 2021, is also infamous for its stricter enforcement of Iran's draconian hijab law and brutal crackdown on mass demonstrations for women's rights.
"If we haven't forgotten, which tragically is not easily forgotten, there was the painful incident of the mass execution of political prisoners by the execution committee," Ebadi said of Raisi in a May 20 interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "The people of Iran had hoped to see him brought to justice, to witness how he would struggle and plead for his own exoneration. He did not deserve such an easy death."
The rights watchdog Amnesty International has said that at least 4,500 people were executed in the mass killing ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1988 for "waging war against God."
The leftist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, which was accused of treachery for its role in carrying out an invasion deep into Iranian territory after a cease-fire ended the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, says that up to 30,000 people were executed.
Many of the victims were buried in secret.
During a court trial in Stockholm in 2022 in which a former prison guard for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps faced testimony from hundreds of survivors and their relatives, Raisi was named as belonging to the three-member execution committee that determined the fate of prisoners.
Ebadi, 76, was a prominent human rights lawyer for years in Iran before she was forced into exile in 2009. From her home in Britain, she has continued to criticize the Iranian authorities for their crackdown on virtually any form of dissent.
WATCH: A new presidential election must be held within 50 days following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, and one analyst says the candidates permitted to run -- be they ultraconservatives or more conciliatory figures who are better able to connect with the public -- will reveal the regime's political priorities.
Ebadi said that some in the foreign media expressed surprise that some Iranians were celebrating Raisi's death, including by lighting fireworks and dancing in videos shared on social media.
"Are people truly this happy about the death of one person?" Ebadi said she was asked. "Regrettably, I told them that [hard-liners'] actions had made their deaths a cause for celebration."
WATCH: Raisi's death led to official mourning in Iran -- but other Iranians celebrated the passing of a man who oversaw a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
Ebadi said that now that the 63-year-old Raisi is dead, it is unlikely he will posthumously face prosecution.
"Generally, and legally, once a person passes away, any criminal actions they committed are no longer prosecuted," Ebadi said. "However, they will remain in people's memories and be recorded in history, particularly in the annals of human rights."
- By Kian Sharifi
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, The Iranian Foreign Minister Close To Revolutionary Guards, Dead At 60
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a conservative figure who enjoyed the support of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has died at the age of 60.
Amir-Abdollahian and ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi were returning from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan when their helicopter crashed in Iran's mountainous northwest on May 19, killing all on board.
Tehran's top diplomat was suspicious of the West and a vocal supporter of the "axis of resistance," Iran's loose network of militant groups and proxies, against Israel and the United States.
His appointment in 2021 was seen as part of the Raisi administration's disengagement with the West and its focus on the Middle East region. He was said to be fluent in Arabic, while his English appeared to be limited.
Born in the northern city of Damghan in 1960, Amir-Abdollahian did not enlist to fight in the devastating 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War and instead attended university and eventually obtained a PhD in international relations.
He climbed the ladder in the Foreign Ministry quickly and his first posting was in Iran's Embassy in Iraq in the late 1990s.
In an apparent sign of the Islamic republic's faith in Amir-Abdollahian, the young diplomat was named to a three-man delegation to represent Iran in rare talks with the United States over the war in Iraq.
Amir-Abdollahian served in various roles in the ministry, notably as ambassador to Bahrain, deputy minister for Arab and African affairs, and head of the Persian Gulf department.
His involvement in Tehran's relations with Iraq and the activities of the IRGC in Iran's western neighbor allowed him to forge a relationship with Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas arm. Soleimani was killed in a U.S. air strike near Baghdad in 2020.
Ahead of his appointment as foreign minister, conservative lawmaker Ali Alizadeh praised Amir-Abdollahian as the "Soleimani of diplomacy."
In 2016, amid rumors that he had fallen out with then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, he turned down an offer to become Iran's envoy in Oman and left the ministry.
But Amir-Abdollahian quickly landed on his feet and was appointed as foreign affairs adviser to then-parliament speaker Ali Larijani, where he remained until he was named foreign minister.
Amir-Abdollahian is survived by his wife and their two children.
- By Kian Sharifi
Ebrahim Raisi, The Hard-Line Iranian President Tipped As Next Supreme Leader, Dead At 63
Ebrahim Raisi, the ultraconservative Iranian president who was widely tipped to become the country's next supreme leader, has died at the age of 63.
A helicopter carrying Raisi and his foreign minister crashed in Iran's mountainous northwest on May 19 on its way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan, killing all on board.
Raisi, a longtime protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was a former judicial chief who also allegedly played a role in one of the darkest chapters of the Islamic republic.
The hard-line cleric will be remembered for overseeing the brutal suppression of the unprecedented, monthslong antiestablishment protests that erupted in 2022 and the tightening of the country's morality laws.
Hundreds were killed and thousands arrested as government forces crushed the demonstrations, one of the biggest challenges to the country's clerical rulers in decades.
Raisi defended the bloody crackdown and accused foreign powers and opposition groups of instigating the unrest.
Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, says Raisi's presidency has been marked by growing social and political ruptures and deteriorating relations with the West.
"His tenure reflects the broader trend of increasingly insulated policymaking at the top of the Iranian system as it consolidates ultraconservative control," he said.
'Butcher Of Tehran'
Raisi attended seminary schools in the holy Shi'ite cities of Qom and Mashhad, where he was born in 1960. He later studied theology and Islamic jurisprudence under the guidance of Khamenei and other powerful clerics.
Raisi was referred to by critics of the Islamic republic as the "Butcher of Tehran" for his alleged role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 when he was Tehran's deputy prosecutor.
In 1989, the year Khamenei became supreme leader, Raisi was named the Iranian capital's top prosecutor. He remained in the role until 1994, when he was tasked with heading the State Inspectorate Organization, a judicial body, a post he held for 10 years.
Powerful judiciary chief Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi appointed Raisi as his deputy in 2004. After a decade in the role, Raisi was named as Iran's chief prosecutor in 2014. Two years later, Khamenei appointed Raisi as custodian of a shrine in Mashhad and one of Iran's wealthiest foundations.
In the 2017 presidential election, Raisi launched an unsuccessful bid against incumbent moderate President Hassan Rohani. He secured 38 percent of the vote.
Two years later, Khamenei appointed Raisi as Iran's judiciary chief. That same year, the United States imposed sanctions on Raisi and eight others deemed to be in Khamenei's inner circle.
'Impunity Reigns Supreme'
Raisi succeeded in his second bid for the presidency in 2021 in an election that was widely seen as a one-horse race.
Scores of moderate and pro-reformist candidates were barred from running. The vote witnessed the lowest-ever turnout for a presidential election since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
"That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran," Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said after Raisi's election victory.
Raisi's election consolidated the authority of the country's hard-liners, which dominate all three branches of power in Iran.
Under Raisi's administration, Iran has deepened relations with China and Russia and ramped up its confrontation with the West and archfoe Israel.
In elections held in March, Raisi defended his seat on the Assembly of Experts, a body that picks the country's supreme leader.
The death of Raisi, long tipped to be the next supreme leader, is likely to complicate Khamenei's succession plan. Mojtaba Khamenei, the influential son of the supreme leader, is now considered among the front-runners.
Raisi is survived by his wife, Jamileh Alamolhoda, and their two daughters.
World Reacts To Death Of Iranian President Raisi
An Iranian woman prays for President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on May 19 after it was reported that the helicopter carrying Raisi and his entourage crashed in northwestern Iran.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning after the bodies of Raisi, 63, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, 60, were found at the site of a helicopter crash on May 20.
Iranians and world leaders are reacting to the deaths of Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, and his foreign minister after state media reported they both died in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran.
- By Kian Sharifi
Will Raisi's Death Bring Major Changes To Iran's Policies? The Short Answer Is 'No.'
The helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has sent shock waves around the Islamic republic and the region.
But Raisi's death is not expected to bring major changes to Tehran's domestic and foreign policies, analysts say.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all major state affairs, and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps are the key centers of power in Iran, where the president's authority is limited.
"The death of Raisi, in itself, will not cause a significant shift in Iran's policies," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. "After all, the president is the second in command in the power hierarchy of the Islamic republic, and strategic directions are set by the supreme leader."
As president, Raisi oversaw a brutal crackdown on antiestablishment protests in 2022 and the tightening of the country's morality laws.
The real significance of the ultraconservative Raisi's death, experts say, is that it could set off a power struggle among the country's hard-liners.
The demise of Raisi, who was widely tipped to become the next supreme leader, could also complicate Khamenei's succession plans.
Raisi, a former judiciary chief, was a longtime protege of Khamenei, who was believed to be grooming him as his successor.
Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based Chatham House, said Raisi "fit the bill" to take over from Khamenei and even modelled his life on the 85-year-old supreme leader.
"[Raisi] was a loyal functionary willing to do the bidding of the supreme leader through multiple institutions," she said. "There are no obvious candidates that can tick a lot of boxes."
Raisi's death has left a vacancy to fill. Elections must be held within 50 days, according to Iranian law, leaving the clerical establishment scrambling to find a suitable replacement.
The early front-runners are speaker of parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei.
Azizi said the next president could have "significant influence over the overall trajectory" of Khamenei's succession.
"As a result, this is going to lead to heightened intra-conservative competition to [become president]," he added.
Ali Vaez, the director of the Iran Project at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said the upcoming election offers an opportunity for the clerical establishment to "pursue a different course" by allowing a relatively competitive vote.
In 2021, Raisi won the presidential election by a landslide, in a vote that was widely seen as rigged. His victory consolidated the power of hard-liners, who assumed control of all three branches of government.
"But I suspect that the regime is dedicating all its efforts to preparing for a succession after Khamenei, striving to create homogeneous conditions at the top of the power pyramid, and not allowing any rivals into this circle," Vaez told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
International Relations
Raisi’s death is unlikely to have any impact on the deepening ties between Iran and Russia, a relationship that has increasingly worried the West, analysts say.
Iran has supplied thousands of drones to Russia following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Iranian unmanned aircraft, known as the Shahed, has played a key role in the 27-month war, allowing Russia to devastate Ukrainian cities at a distance, including destroying critical infrastructure.
"It is unlikely that anything will change in relations between Russia and Iran. At least if a conservative remains president,” Ilia Kusa, an analyst at the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Institute of the Future, said on Facebook.
"The situational partnership between Russia and Iran is tied not so much to one person as to the international situation, poor relations with the West, and close ties at different levels," he said.
As for U.S.-Iranian relations, which have been tense for decades, the Biden administration does not expect any transformation with Raisi's death.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on May 20 that when it comes to Iranian policy, it is Khamenei who “calls the shots,” not the president.
“So we don't anticipate any change in Iranian behavior. And therefore the Iranians should not expect any change in American behavior when it comes to holding them accountable,” Kirby said.
Iranian President Raisi's Death Sets Off Scramble To Find His Replacement
The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi sets in motion a scramble to replace him in short order, with long-term implications for the clerical establishment.
Mohammad Mokhber, who served as first vice president under Raisi, has already taken over the presidential duties in an acting capacity.
His time in office will likely be brief, with Iranian law stipulating that a new presidential election be held within 50 days.
Mokhber, along with speaker of parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, must now arrange a new vote, expected to take place early July.
Raisi died on impact along with nine others, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in northwestern Iran on May 19.
WATCH: A new presidential election must be held within 50 days following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, and one analyst says the candidates permitted to run -- be they ultraconservatives or more conciliatory figures who are better able to connect with the public -- will reveal the regime's political priorities.
Raisi, a former judiciary head who was elected by a landslide in a controversial election in 2021, was seen as a protege and possible successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei, addressing the nation on May 19 before Raisi's death was confirmed, said that "the Iranian people should not worry, there will be no disruption in the country's work."
But the death of the ultraconservative Raisi presents challenges to the Islamic republic's hard-liners, who solidified their hold on power following this spring's parliamentary elections.
Ali Afshari, a U.S.-based former student leader who was jailed in Iran for his activism, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that "it may not be easy to find a leader like Raisi, who was completely obedient to Khamenei and the establishment.”
The normally lengthy process for determining suitable presidential candidates, all subject to vetting and approval by the powerful Guardians Council, will now be squeezed into a window of less than two months.
In winning the presidency in 2021, Raisi benefitted from the mass disqualification of reformist and moderate candidates. Seen as a hand-picked candidate who would not pose a threat to Khamenei, he took more than 72 percent of the vote in a presidential election that garnered the lowest turnout ever since the Islamic republic was founded in 1979.
There is some precedent for a quick presidential transition in Iran.
The Islamic republic's second president, Mohammad-Ali Rajai, served less than two weeks before his assassination in 1981. He was replaced just over a month later by Khamenei, who took more than 95 percent of the vote in an election in which he was backed by all three other candidates.
Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House in London, said in a video interview that she expects an expedited process this time around.
"The leadership wants to show a commitment to the constitution, but also business as usual," Vakil said. "And facilitating a quick and accountable election will be important, at least for external constituencies and to show stability."
Vakil lists past presidential candidates who have already undergone vetting by the Guardians Council among Raisi's possible successors, including parliament speaker Qalibaf.
Vakil also said Khamenei could take the opportunity to "rehabilitate marginalized" former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who was barred from running against Raisi in 2021, but "has been a loyal supporter of the system."
Some observers have also suggested that this might be a chance to repair ties with members of former moderate President Hassan Rohani's camp, Vakil says, although she does not see Rohani himself as a potential candidate.
In 2021, Raisi defeated Mohsen Rezaee, a senior officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who is a member of the influential Expediency Council, as well as Abdolnaser Hemmati, a banker who was the only moderate in the race.
"Who the system picks, or permits, to run will really indicate the priorities or direction of this political establishment," Vakil said. "If they do allow a more contested election, then this could be about building bridges and trying to increase popular legitimacy."
World Reacts To Death Of Iranian President Raisi
On the other hand, if a hard-liner is selected from within the ranks of the clerical establishment, it would show that "the priorities are unity, conservative consolidation, and making sure that transition...continues to be prioritized."
The election of a president this year will also bring changes to election timelines, as the next elected president will serve a full four-year term. This will mean that future presidential elections will fall the same year as parliamentary elections.
Longer-term, Raisi's death leaves a major vacancy in the effort to groom the Islamic republic's next supreme leader, who makes all final decisions regarding Iranian foreign and domestic policies.
Iran's clerical leadership, Afshari said, now finds itself "in an uncomfortable situation" in finding a suitable successor to the 85-year-old Khamenei, who has reportedly suffered from health problems in recent years.
Reza Alijani, an Iranian journalist and analyst based in France, said that former competitors of Raisi would likely benefit. He named Khamenei's son, the prominent cleric Mojtaba Khamenei, as a strong contender to replace his father.
"Mojtaba Khamenei's chances are likely much higher now," Alijani told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
With contributions by Kian Sharifi
Bodies Recovered As Iranian TV Announces President's Death
Iranian state media showed rescue workers and soldiers carrying away the bodies of the casualties after a helicopter with senior officials on board crashed in the country's northwest. State television announced on May 20 that President Ebrahim Raisi had died in the crash.
- By RFE/RL
Iran Announces June 28 For New Election Following Raisi's Death
PHOTO GALLERY: World Reacts To Death Of Iranian President Raisi (CLICK TO VIEW)
Even as Iran declared a period of mourning following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and others in a helicopter crash, the country moved forward and set June 28 as the date for an election to determine Raisi’s successor.
Iranian authorities also said the funeral procession for Raisi will be held in Tehran on May 22.
The announcements came as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning after the bodies of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were found at the site of a helicopter crash in northwest Iran.
Meanwhile, Washington said for the first time that Tehran had asked for U.S. help in the helicopter incident but that it was unable to provide assistance, mainly due to logistical reasons.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller did not specify how the request was made or the nature of it. The United States and Iran do not have diplomatic relations.
Iranian state television on May 20 said the helicopter had crashed due to poor weather conditions. It was unclear how many people were on board the helicopter when it went down.
Khamenei also named First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as interim president. Iranian law stipulates that if the president dies, power is transferred to the first vice president.
WATCH: A new presidential election must be held within 50 days and one analyst says the candidates permitted to run -- be they ultraconservatives or more conciliatory figures who are better able to connect with the public -- will reveal the regime's political priorities.
A council consisting of the speaker of parliament, the head of the judiciary, and the first vice president must arrange for a new president to be elected within 50 days.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani was appointed acting foreign minister, Iranian state media reported.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said the governor of East Azerbaijan Province and other unspecified officials and bodyguards were aboard the ill-fated aircraft.
Foreign governments on May 20 issued expressions of condolence and solidarity. Lebanon announced three days of mourning to honor Raisi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were both "true, reliable friends of our country."
Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, issued a statement of condolence and thanked Raisi for his “tireless efforts in solidarity” with the Palestinian people.
The United States, a bitter rival of Iran – and which had imposed financial sanctions on Raisi when he was head of Iran's judiciary in 2019 – also offered its condolences.
“The United States expresses its official condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran,” the State Department said in a statement.
“As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
The White House, meanwhile, had harsh words for Raisi, saying he had "blood on his hands" for supporting extremist groups in the Middle East.
U.S. national-security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that "no question, this was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands."
European Council President Charles Michel issued a statement of “sincere condolences,” adding “our thoughts go to the families.”
Search-and-rescue teams, aided by several foreign governments, had been frantically searching for the helicopter after it went down in bad weather conditions in a mountainous area of the country late on May 19.
WATCH: Raisi's death led to official mourning in Iran, but other Iranians celebrated the passing of a man who oversaw a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
Some activists criticized the EU for assisting in the rescue operation of a leader who has been accused of overseeing major human rights abuses.
But EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic defended the move on May 20, saying that by providing satellite mapping services to Tehran, Brussels was acting "upon request for facilitating a search and rescue operation" and was not "an act of political support to any regime or establishment."
"It is simply an expression of the most basic humanity," he added in a post on X.
Raisi's helicopter was on its way to the city of Tabriz when it went down near the city of Jolfa in what state television said was a "hard landing," but several news reports quoted government sources as saying the helicopter crashed as it crossed a mountainous and forested area.
The bodies from the helicopter that crashed were severely burned, but not beyond recognition, according to the head of Iran's Crisis Management Organization, Mohammad Hassan Nami. He said DNA tests were not needed to confirm the identities of those killed in the crash.
He added that Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, who served as Khamenei's representative in East Azerbaijan Province, survived the crash initially and remained alive for about an hour before he died.
Nami said that, during that time, Ale-Hashem had made contact with Raisi's chief of staff by phone. He did not reveal any further details.
The Iranian government said the helicopter was one of three flying in a convoy, and the other two reportedly landed safely in Tabriz.
The ultraconservative Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian had been in Azerbaijan earlier on May 19 to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who said on X that Azerbaijan was "profoundly troubled" by the news that Raisi's helicopter had gone down.
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and has since tightened many restrictions on Iranians through enforcement of morality laws and a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating the code on head scarves.
He has also pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers while also allowing the country to markedly increase its uranium enrichment program.
- By RFE/RL and
- RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Iranian President, Foreign Minister Killed In Helicopter Crash
Rescuers recover bodies at the site where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in a fog-shrouded mountainous area of northwest Iran on May 20.
Raisi, 63, and his companions, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, have been found dead at the site of the crash.
Rescuers work to recover bodies at the site where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in a fog-shrouded mountainous area in the country's northwest on May 20. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also among those killed, along with seven others.
- By Ray Furlong
Frantic Search For Crashed Helicopter With Iranian President
Iranian rescue teams were frantically searching for a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi after it crashed in a remote area of the country on May 19.
- By Reuters
Iran Releases Footage Of Rescuers Searching For President's Helicopter
Thick fog dominates the official Iranian footage of search efforts for a helicopter reportedly carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Iranian state media said the helicopter made a "hard landing" on May 19. Video from Iran's northwestern East Azerbaijan province shows offroad cars driving up a bumpy road and rescuers walking in the rugged mountainous terrain.
Official Says 'No Signs Of Life' Found At Crash Site Of Iranian President's Helicopter
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is feared dead after rescue teams reached the remote site in northwestern Iran where a helicopter he and other government officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were travelling in crashed.
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, told state television early on May 20 that rescuers had seen the downed helicopter and upon arrival, the situation was "not good."
“With the discovery of the crash site, no signs of life have been detected among the helicopter's passengers,” he said.
Search-and-rescue teams, aided by several foreign governments, had been frantically searching for the helicopter after it went down in bad weather conditions in a mountainous area of the country late on May 19.
Raisi's helicopter was on its way to the city of Tabriz when it went down near the city of Jolfa in what state television said was a "hard landing," but several news reports quoted government sources as saying the helicopter crashed as it crossed a mountainous and forested area.
The Iranian government said the helicopter was one of three flying in a convoy, and the other two reportedly landed safely in Tabriz. The massive search for more than 12 hours before a Turkish drone with night vision that was aiding the search identified a source of heat "suspected to be the wreckage of the helicopter carrying Raisi." According to the Turkish Anadolu news agency, Ankara immediately "shared its coordinates with Iranian authorities."
Reports of the crash sparked several countries, including Iraq, Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, into action to help in the search effort, while the European Union activated its Copernicus satellite mapping service at Iran's request.
The ultraconservative Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian had been in Azerbaijan earlier on May 19 to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who said on X that Azerbaijan was "profoundly troubled" by the news that Raisi's helicopter had gone down.
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and has since tightened many restrictions on Iranians through enforcement of morality laws and a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating the code on head scarves.
He has also pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers while also allowing the country to markedly increase its uranium enrichment program.
With growing dissent among many Iranians over an array of political, social and economic crises, Iran's clerical rulers.
Hours after the search began, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a brief statement late calling for prayers and assuring Iranians "the country's affairs will not be disrupted." He has not commented publicly since reports of the burned wreckage were found.
State TV showed people praying at the Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country.
Raisi, 63, is a hard-liner who won Iran's 2021 presidential election after leading the country's judiciary. He is viewed as a protege of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He has been sanctioned by the United States in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq War.
Some reports have noted that because of international sanctions it has been difficult for Iran to obtain parts for its aging helicopter fleet.
Iranian law stipulates that if the president dies, power is transferred to the first vice president. A council consisting of the speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the head of the judicial power, and the first vice president must arrange for a new president to be elected within 50 days. The current first vice president of Iran is Mohammad Mokhber.
- By RFE/RL
Dubai Unlocked: Convicts, Wealthy Iranians With State Ties Implicated In Leaked Property Data
Over 7,000 Iranians, including convicts and some with ties to the state, own what experts estimate to be billions of dollars of property in Dubai, according to a report by the Netherlands-based outlet Radio Zamaneh.
The information was obtained as part of a monthslong investigative project known as Dubai Unlocked. Journalists from 75 media outlets from across the world, including Radio Zamaneh, pored over the leaked data and have gradually released their findings over the past week.
Radio Zamaneh’s report cites academics and experts who say the total value of properties owned by Iranians in Dubai is around $7 billion.
It notes that while there is a slew of ordinary Iranians who have properties in the United Arab Emirates, there are also convicts, fugitives, and known figures with links to the Iranian establishment.
An office in Dubai’s Aspect Tower worth around $650,000 belongs to Abbas Iravani, a former head of the Ezam Automotive Parts Group who was sentenced to 65 years in prison earlier this year for his involvement in smuggling auto parts, disrupting the economy, and bribing officials. He has denied the charges.
Another prominent figure is Mohammad Emami, an investor and TV producer who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for his involvement in financial corruption. His friend and alleged co-conspirator in the case, Amir Reza Farzanrad, is a fugitive and also implicated in the Dubai Unlocked leaks.
Radio Zamaneh says Emami and Farzanrad each own a villa in the affluent Al-Merkadh neighborhood of Dubai worth $5.5 million and $12 million, respectively.
Convicted steel magnate Rasul Danialzadeh, sentenced to 16 years in prison for bribery, owns $12.6 million worth of property in Dubai, including five apartments in the upscale Al-Thanyah Fifth community and a villa in Palm Jumeirah.
The family of the late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani feature prominently in the leaks.
His oldest son, former Tehran City Council chairman Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, owns an apartment worth an estimated $380,000. Mohsen’s son, Ehsan, has a small apartment in Dubai valued at $100,000.
Yasser Hashemi Rafsanjani -- the ex-president’s youngest son -- and his wife, Maryam, own two apartments in the Burj Khalifa worth a combined $1.45 million.
The reports also notes that several dual national Iranians own properties in Dubai, including Mehdi Shams, a former executive at the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group.
The report said Shams, who is sentenced to 20 years in prison over his involvement in a multibillion-dollar embezzlement case, purchased a villa valued at $20 million on his British passport.
To put the figures into perspective, the average annual household income in Tehran in the Iranian year 1401 (March 2022-23) was around 2.3 billion rials. That is roughly $3,900 per year, or around $325 a month.
“With a reputation for financial secrecy, low taxes, and an ever-expanding spread of valuable real estate, [Dubai] is an appealing option for those looking to launder or hide cash,” says the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which along with Norwegian financial outlet E24 coordinated the investigation project.
- By Kian Sharifi
EU Urges Iran To 'Reverse Nuclear Trajectory' As Tehran Threatens To Cross Threshold
The European Union has joined the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in urging Iran to abandon suggestions that it might develop nuclear weapons.
"We continue to call Iran to reverse its nuclear trajectory and show concrete steps, such as urgently improve cooperation with the IAEA," EU spokesman Peter Stano told RFE/RL in written comments on May 16.
The Islamic republic has long claimed that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, but a growing number of officials in recent weeks have openly suggested that Iran might review its nuclear doctrine if it deems it necessary.
A landmark deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and world powers in 2015 restricted Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions.
However, Iran expanded its program and restricted IAEA inspections of its nuclear sites after then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United Staes from the deal and reimposed sanctions in 2018.
The EU, which is the coordinator of the JCPOA's Joint Commission, mediated several rounds of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington from 2021 to 2022.
The 27-member bloc presented a final draft of an agreement to revive the deal in August 2022, but talks broke down soon after as Tehran and Washington accused each other of making excessive demands.
"Our goal has always been to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, through a diplomatic solution," Stano said, adding that the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and his team continue efforts to revive the Iran deal.
Iran has particularly upped the rhetoric since last month, when it launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against its archfoe Israel in response to a deadly air strike on its embassy compound in Syria that killed several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
An IRGC general at the time warned that an attack on Iran's nuclear sites could lead to a rethinking of its policy on nuclear weapons.
Kamal Kharazi, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a former foreign minister, repeated the threat earlier this week.
"We do not want nuclear weapons and the supreme leader's fatwa is to that effect. But if the enemy threatens you, what do you do?" he said.
The fatwa refers to a religious decree by Khamenei in which he said the Islamic republic considers the use of nuclear weapons to be "haram" and Iran would not pursue one.
The fatwa has long been cited by the Iranian authorities as evidence that Iran would never weaponize its nuclear program. Experts, however, question how effective of a barrier the fatwa really is.
Farzan Sabet, a senior research associate at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said, "The nuclear fatwa does not pose an insurmountable religious or legal obstacle inside Iran for the system there to pursue nuclear weapons or potentially build them."
Despite the public comments by Iranian officials, the Foreign Ministry has insisted that there has been no change in the country's nuclear doctrine.
Stano said that it "is imperative to show utmost restraint" given the heightened tensions in the Middle East.
"Further escalation in the region -- also in the form of statements about the nuclear posture, even if not reflecting the official position of the country -- is in no one's interest," he added.
In response to in Iran's new rhetoric, the United States has said it "will not allow" Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons.
Separately, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi has called on Iran to "stop" suggestions that it might review its nuclear posture.
Deadly Floods Ravage Northeastern Iran
At least seven people have died in northeastern Iran amid severe flooding and heavy rainfall in the city of Mashhad, with local authorities warning the death toll may rise as rescue operations continue to hunt for individuals yet to be accounted for.
The floods were triggered by an intense rainfall that started earlier this week, inundating streets and sweeping away cars. Videos on social media show multiple vehicles being carried off by rushing waters.
According to local media reports, at least 12 people have been reported missing. The head of the Crisis Management Department of Khorasan Razavi Province, Reza Abbasi, confirmed that searches are ongoing in Torghabeh, Shandiz, Mashhad, and Fariman county.
Abbasi said authorities are working to ensure proper verification from forensic specialists before attributing deaths to the floods.
Of the confirmed casualties, five were from Mashhad and two from the surrounding rural areas of Fariman.
Abbasi urged residents of Mashhad to avoid unnecessary travel as poor weather conditions are expected to persist in the region through to the end of the week, posing risks of further flooding.
The Iranian Meteorological Organization issued a warning on May 16 for potential severe thunderstorms and heavy winds over the coming 24 hours, affecting several provinces including West and East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, and parts of the Alborz mountain range, among others.
This flooding has acted as a grim reminder of deadly floods in April 2019, when heavy rains in Shiraz triggered a major disaster that claimed 22 lives and caused extensive damage.
Experts say climate change has amplified droughts and floods that are plaguing Iran, and that their intensity and frequency threaten food security.
The Iranian Meteorological Organization has estimated that 97 percent of the country is experiencing drought to some degree.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
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