Mint Quick Edit | Post-Raisi Iran: A hard state unlikely to soften
Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on Sunday along with that of foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian comes at an explosive moment in world affairs, with domestic and global implications. Raisi’s departure is expected to spark a power struggle in a country that has been in turmoil over mounting calls for democratic reforms and women’s rights.
As a hardliner who was seen as a possible successor to supreme leader Ayatollah Khameini, Raisi’s way to address those demands was to either execute or jail activists. As for geopolitics, Raisi’s Iran was seen as having stepped up the use of proxy militia in the region for its ends.
Recently, Tehran plunged headlong into confrontation with Israel, firing thousands of drones (ineffectively) at the Jewish state in response to Israeli action that killed an Iranian general. A new president, however, is unlikely to soften Iran’s hard state.
The chances of moderates toppling its hardliners look slim. With West Asia tense over the Gaza War, Tehran may even be tempted to stiffen its anti-US resolve.
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