The condition of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi remains unknown after his helicopter crashed in the rural and mountainous border region between Iran and western Azerbaijan. Iranian state media IRINN reported that the crash site had not yet been located as of about 1 a.m. local time Monday morning, approximately 12 hours after the incident. Nightfall, heavy fog, and rough weather are complicating the search-and-rescue efforts.
Raisi had met with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev at the border earlier on Sunday during a diplomatic trip.
Now the focus of a national emergency search effort, who is the missing Iranian president?
Legal Career and Political Connections
Coming from a notable family in the major city of Mashhad, Raisi quickly moved into the legal profession after finishing his education in the 1980s. He was named the deputy prosecutor for Tehran and rapidly ascended through the ranks, becoming an ally of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Khomeini appointed Raisi as one of the four leaders responsible for mass political executions in 1988, considered the country’s greatest purge of political enemies. Estimates of the total number of political prisoners executed range from about 3,000 to up to 30,000 people.
Raisi continued his rise, becoming Tehran’s chief prosecutor and later the head of the country’s General Inspection Office in the 1990s. Following Khomeini’s death and the rise of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi positioned himself as a close ally to the new supreme leader. This alliance led to his appointment as Iran’s attorney general in 2014.
Presidential Ambitions
Using his national platform as attorney general, Raisi launched an underdog campaign for the presidency against former President Hassan Rouhani in 2017. Viewed by supporters as an anti-corruption candidate, conservative hard-liner, and close follower of the popular Khamenei, he gained momentum but ultimately fell short in the election. He placed second with about 38 percent of the vote and later alleged electoral fraud.
After the 2017 election, Raisi was appointed as the chief justice of Iran in 2019, the highest legal office in the country. He held this role until running for president again in 2021. Raisi won his second presidential bid, with some outside observers theorizing that Khamenei might have rigged the election in favor of his ally. The presidency is seen as a prerequisite role for those aspiring to succeed Khamenei as supreme leader.
Relations with the U.S. and Tenure
In his 2021 inauguration speech, Raisi expressed a desire to lift U.S. sanctions on Iran, signaling support for previous nuclear control treaties. He assured that Iran’s nuclear program was peaceful and not aimed at weapons production.
In foreign policy, Raisi backed the Taliban government in Afghanistan following the American withdrawal and has supported Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
Raisi’s presidency faced significant challenges last year with mass civil unrest following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman allegedly killed by the country’s morality police. In response to the Israel-Hamas war, the Iranian government has consistently denounced Israel and launched a mass missile strike on the country last month following an Israeli strike on its diplomatic complex in Syria.
