President Raisi dead in chopper crash. Why it's a blow to Iran's hardliners
Business StandardThere was no sign of life seen at the crash site of a helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others, the country's state television said on Monday. President Ebrahim Raisi, 63, was widely reported to be a hard-liner within Iran's political setup and theocracy. After heading Iran's judiciary, Raisi ran unsuccessfully for president in 2017 against Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate cleric. Under Raisi as president, Iran undertook the enrichment of uranium up to near-weapons-grade levels, attacked Israel in a massive drone and missile assault in April in response to a suspected Israeli attack that killed Iranian generals in Syria, and carried out a months-long security crackdown that killed over 500 and saw more than 22,000 detained in the aftermath of the nationwide protests triggered by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.