Ebrahim Raisi: ‘Butcher of Tehran’ seen as a potential successor to Khamenei

It seems at this time that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not survive his helicopter’s fiery crash yesterday.

Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office had ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.

Before becoming president1, Raisi held various positions inside the judiciary under the purview of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As a prosecutor, and at the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, he sat on the committee that sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death.

The executions earned him the nickname the “Butcher of Tehran” and subsequently subjected him to sanctions by the United States and to condemnation by the United Nations and international human rights organizations.

Since 2006, Raisi has served on the Assembly of Experts, a body that appoints and supervises the supreme leader.

For years many saw Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi’s main policies.

Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear program, had earlier sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.