Maryam Durani (b. 1987). An Afghan activist and women's advocate. In 2012, she received the International Women of Courage Award.
Maryam Durani is the daughter of Haji Mohammad Eisa Durani, and she is a member of the Durrani tribe. She graduated from the Payam Noor and American University of Afghanistan. She earned a degree in Law and Political Science and business. Despite the area's extremely conservative view toward women, Durani served as a leader, role model, and advocate for women in Kandahar. First elected as a Kandahar Provincial Council Member in 2005 at the age of 21 and for a second term in 2009, Durani served as one of only four women on the Council and brought women's concerns and a woman's perspective to the activities and discussions of the Council.
As a young, emerging leader in southern Afghanistan, Durani's courage and dedication to the women of Afghanistan were embedded in the fabric of her daily life. Durani founded and served as the director of an association focused on empowerment of women, and she managed Merman Radio, a radio station in Kandahar City focused on women's issues. She was an outspoken advocate for the peace and rights of women and girls in Afghan society, as well as for basic civil rights for all Afghan citizens, and she was determined to change the culture and perception of women's roles in Afghanistan.
Durani understood and accepted the risks of being a visible woman in such powerful and meaningful roles and received strong support from her immediate and extended family who also faced these dangers. She was injured in an attempted assassination with a bomb that nearly took her life. The position she holds in the Kandahar Provincial Government was for a woman, extremely unusual, given the conservative values in southern Afghanistan, which continued to be influenced by Taliban views. Durani defied stereotypes and cultural norms and became a strong role model for women who wanted to change their circumstances, both for themselves and for their families. Durani used her position to foster justice, peace, human rights, and overall basic freedoms for Kandahari women.
In Afghanistan, Durani dedicated her life to educating those on the fringes of society and to pursuing equality for women and universal human rights. She believed that the greatest investment that could be made in Afghanistan's future was in its teachers, and that investing in their professional development would ensure that they have access to knowledge and information that would stimulate their own learning. This, in turn, will contribute to the critical task of providing a high-quality education to the youth of Afghanistan. Durani believed that to promote peace in Afghanistan, there must be expanded equal access to quality community-based education, as well as support programs that increase girls' and boys' attendance at school. Durani served in different positions, Durani was Kandahar people's representative in the provincial council, and director of a nonprofit women development organization registered in Afghanistan in 2004 seeking to improve women conditions in war-torn Kandahar province.
Durani became the founder and the owner of Merman Radio of Kandahar which was established in 2010 to address gender inequalities in Kandahar province and bring women's voices to the forefront. Merman Radio empowered Kandahar's youth, especially women and media professionals to explore sensitive issues of gender, human rights, good governance, rule of law, in addition to economic, and social issues.
In 2013, Durani founded the Kandahar women's advocacy network, Kandahar Women's Network, an advocacy platform which functioned for women's empowerment. Kandahar Women's Network had 25 women led organizations as its members.
In March 2012, Durani received the United States Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award. In the same year, Time Magazine chose Durani as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" According to Time Magazine, "As the owner and operator of a radio station (Merman Radio) that focuses on women's issues and as a member of the Kandahar provincial council, Durani stands up for the region's women with remarkable bravery."
In July 2013, Durani was selected as one of 30 young activists by the National Endowment for Democracy. In May 2014, Durani received the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award in Middelburg, Netherlands. In November 2015, Durani received the International Peace Generation Award. And, in December 2015, Durani received the Simorgh International Peace Prize which was awarded on Human Rights Day (December 10, 2015) in the context of the Human Rights Week.
In 2021, with the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Maryam Durani was forced to go into hiding for fear of losing her life because of her activism. After an excruciating ordeal, Durani was able to escape Afghanistan and relocate to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where her new work centered on helping the growing community of Afghan refugees.
Maryam Durani survived two assassination attempts by the Taliban in Afghanistan for her work building up women, she's now acclimating to Milwaukee with the help of volunteers.
Many Afghans fled their homeland when the Taliban surged back into power after the U.S. withdrew from its 20-year war there. Maryam Durani was among them.
In 2012, she was one ofTIMEmagazine’s 100 most influential people and received an International Women of Courage award for her work building up Afghan women and fighting oppression. She continued that work until last year when she and her family fled.
An extended conversation with Maryam Durani.
After spending several months at Wisconsin's Fort McCoy, Durani is now resettling in Milwaukee. She hasn’t been in Milwaukee for long, but already she’s staked out a special spot. “I like beach,” says Durani. “Because I saw the beach, I’m feeling peaceful.”
Durani says she and other Afghan refugees have appreciated visits to the lakefront, on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. “Because they have a more stress, and they all lose everything,” she says. “And they all lose past life. And now they are needed to find peace. And I think I'm saw beach. I'm feeling peaceful, and I other things I love in the Milwaukee, the people. They all have a friendly communication with the new people is coming, with the refugees. And I like these two things.”
While Durani knows some English, her native tongue is Dari. It’s the Afghan dialect of Farsi, spoken in Iran.
So we got help from local interpreter Kourosh Hassani, who’s an English as a second language teacher leader with the Department of Bilingual Multicultural Education at Milwaukee Public Schools. Durani answers in Dari, and Hassani translates to English.
“After that explosion, I experienced death and I wasn't afraid of it anymore. Because I said, ‘If I'm supposed to die, then let me leave behind a legacy, something behind for the next generation.'"
Life has been good in Milwaukee, Durani says. “Because I found new friends here. And I feel like the work that I was doing in my country, I can continue doing it here.”
Durani was born in Iran to Afghan refugees and moved back to Afghanistan at 18. She lived in Kandahar until she fled last year. Kandahar is about eight hours south of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capitol, and is much closer to the border with Pakistan. Durani says there were a lot of changes there from the time she arrived until she left.
“In the beginning, when we came [to Afghanistan], the security was very good,” she says. “There was no name, name or mention of the Taliban, they didn't even exist. One of the bad things I had is that women did not really work outside, there was only one principal that was a woman that was a principal of that school. And in the universities, women were not present, or the girls were not present.”
Durani saw these problems and realized that women themselves needed to get active and resolve them. She became a provincial council member in the Kandahar Council. She graduated from university.
Durani founded the Kandahar Women's Advocacy Network, made up of two dozen advocacy groups led by women. She started a women’s internet cafe, a woman's library, a school for higher learning, a fitness center and the first women’s radio station in the south of Afghanistan.
As for where she found the energy to do all these things, Durani says, “What really inspired me was the presence of the other young women who are besides me. And so, when I would see the girls and women come when I had done something, and they would laugh, and they'd be very happy about it, that would encourage me to go ahead and do another, take another step or another move.”
When TIME magazine wrote about Durani in 2012, it said Kandahar Province is often called the spiritual home of the Taliban. And it's a place where it pays to stay quiet. But that's not Maryam Durani’s way. How did she deal with the threats and the worries about being involved in these issues?
“The first two years was very peaceful, was very good. And so, I thought it's better that I worked for the women. It was after the second or third year that the problem started coming up. But the good thing, the good thing I had was my family and they were beside me, and they would support me to this," she says.
The first explosion at her workplace really gave her the courage to continue, Durani says. “After that explosion, I experienced death and I wasn't afraid of it anymore. Because I said, ‘If I'm supposed to die, then let me leave behind a legacy, something behind for the next generation.'"
She says she's experienced a lot of bad things in her life and during these travels as a refugee. “And so I said, 'If I can bring about some change so that the next generation does not experience the same thing after me, why wouldn't I? Why shouldn't I do something about it?'”
Durani survived two assassination attempts. “Two times I was a subject of, you know, personal detonations against me, where they would blow themselves up.” She says one of her colleagues was assassinated. “We were campaigning on a work that we were working on together. And I was forced to go live six months hidden in Kabul. Besides that, there was a lot of calls made, there's a lot of threats made by Taliban against me.”
Durani admits that not everybody has the sort of selflessness and courage to help the next generation. She says her selflessness goes back to her childhood.
“From my mom and dad, I always learned to help others. My mom would always try to help other refugees who would come to Iran to try to help them out. And my parents would do that. So, I saw that in them. And as a child, I would read a lot of books. And in the books, I would read about a lot of people who did sacrifices for their society. And for that reason, I wanted to be somebody who's able to put a smile and put happiness as a gift to others.”
“It's very hard for me to express ‘What do you miss from home?’ because your country makes your identity. I am like a person that I've lost my identity."
Durani doesn’t feellike she is at risk by being in the United States and speaking to the media. “No, not right now because right now I'm here. I feel safe, but if I decide to go back, then yes.”
Durani calls her journey to the U.S. scary and dreadful. When Kabul fell, she had to hide in a house for two to three weeks. Even the children couldn’t go outside. Her family tried to get to the airport three or four times during that period, and each time they were afraid of being stopped by the Taliban. Every time they were turned away, they lost hope. They finally made it! But, Durani says that comes with the sorrow of leaving everything behind.
“For you to be to have to leave everything that you have, you've had to let it go and to go on a path that you don't know what the end of it will be. And when you start on this path of journey, you see, there's lots of scary things until you reach safety.”
Obviously, there were hardships in Afghanistan, but Durani says she really misses her work, her friends, her colleagues and employees. “It's very hard for me to express ‘What do you miss from home?’ because your country makes your identity. I am like a person that I've lost my identity,” she describes.
In fact, Durani has a metaphor for that loss of identity. “Immigrants from Afghanistan who have come here, they're almost like newborn babies right now. Because right now, they don't have anyone. They don't know anything. And they can't speak. And this newborn needs to, little by little, to grow and develop — like learning a new language, learning how to communicate and with one another with others, and learning about some of the goods and the bads of the society.”
In the U.S., women have the rights to work, to go to school, to be in the government. Durani says she’s been able to ease up on some of the worries she had in Afghanistan. “I can't say like everything that I was actually fighting for over there they have it over here right now. Not everything, but a great amount of the things that I was fighting for is already available here.”
Durani says the new environment, with its new rights, gives her an opportunity to become a better person. “Somebody to have a positive impact on themselves and their surrounding environment." She wants to be a role model for the children and encourage them to learn and grow.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban is trying many efforts to restrict women, like banning long distance road trips for women who are by themselves, requiring hijabs and chaperons to ride taxis, telling female workers to stay home, restricting secondary schools to only boys and male teachers.
Durani is most concerned with the closing of schools. “Because all of my advocacy in the past was always that women should be able to be educated because I believe in this. It’s a society that is advanced and has independence, for the society that its women are illiterate. It is like a society that has no spirit and no brain, and anybody can use and abuse that society.”
Now, Durani says she can help Afghan refugees push through the culture shock and move forward. “For example, I've seen some people from the villages or the outskirts of the cities in Afghanistan, and they have come to the city. That was a very closed society when they were, for example in those villages. And so, girls always had this picture in their mind that they can't do anything except for marry and bear children. I want to teach them that now that you're over here, you have this opportunity. So, I want to plant the seed and give them the idea that hey, now I can do something here. So let me do it.”
Durani says people can help Afghans right now in Milwaukee and around the country. "I see various groups, organizations that are supporting. They can offer their support or their help or donations to those organizations that are helping the refugees. For example, two women that have been working with me they're helping me to understand the American society and how to function in it."
She says she was very happy that she met these women. “So, it's important for individuals, like that I had the opportunity to meet, for them to meet the individuals and persons that can guide them and help them in the new society.”
Durani says it’s also important to help young Afghans get to college. She says they’ll need financial support or assistance, or help with scholarships or grants.
Maryam Durani: (Arabic: مَریَم دورانی), is an Afghan activist. Daughter of Haji Mohammad Eisa Durani, Maryam Durani was born in 1987. Hailing from the Muhammadzai tribe, Maryam is a graduate of the business department of American University of Afghanistan and currently she is a third class student of Law and Political Science at Noor University. Maryam Durani was also Kandahar people’s representative in the provincial council. She has served in different positions such as director of Khadijatul Kubra women's association for culture, owner of Merman Radio (special women radio) and as founder of the Kandahar woman advocacy network. She received the World Ten Brave Women’s award on March 8, 2012 as well as a World 100 Influential Figure’s award on April 20, 2012. She has also received the Brave Woman award from the State of Pennsylvania, the Women Rights Protector’s award from Washington and an Iraq and Afghanistan Female Peace Activist’s appreciation letter from Turkey. She is a broadcaster and the manager of the Merman Radio of Kandahar. On April 6, 2013, she founded the Women's Network (Advocacy) in Kandahar. Maryam also established the Malalai Maiwandi Internet cafe a free women's internet cafe to connect more women to the world in a safe and comfortable space. she opened Malali Maiwandi internet cafe on September 25, 2013 which is the first of its kind in the Afghanistan. There Afghan women could use the cafe for getting information about current affairs and obtain educational material, which is the main reason why she established the women's cafe. In 2012, she was chosen by Time Magazine as "The 100 Most Influential People in the World". According to Time, "As the owner and operator of a radio station (Merman Radio) that focuses on women's issues and as a member of the Kandahar provincial council, Durani stands up for the region's women with remarkable bravery." On March 8, 2012, she became a recipient of the prestigious United States Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award.
Samira Ibrahim (Arabic: سميرة إبراهيم) (born c. 1987) is an Egyptian activist who came to prominence during the Egyptian Arab Spring Uprising.
On March 9, 2011, she participated in a sit-in at Tahrir Square in Cairo. The military violently dispersed protest participants, and Samira and other women were beaten, given electric shocks, strip searched, and videotaped by the soldiers. They were also subjected to virginity tests. The tests were allegedly carried out to protect the soldiers from claims of rape.
After succeeding in placing the case in front of a civilian court, a court order was issued in December 2011 to stop the practice of “virginity tests”. However in March 2012, a military court exonerated Dr. Adel El Mogy from charges laid in connection with the virginity testing of Ibrahim.
Ibrahim vowed to take her case to the international courts.
In early March 2013, Ibrahim came under criticism after Samuel Tadros, writing in The Weekly Standard, accused her of posting anti-Semitic and anti-American statements on her Twitter account. These statements included quoting Adolf Hitler, writing: "I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society, takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it. Hitler.” In reaction to a suicide bombing of a bus of Israelis in Bulgaria, she wrote "Today is a very sweet day with a lot of very sweet news.” In 2012, on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, she tweeted "Today is the anniversary of 9/11. May every year come with America burning".
The United States State Department subsequently announced that it would not be giving the International Women of Courage Award to Samira Ibrahim in light of these comments.
Initially, Ibrahim claimed that her Twitter account had been "previously stolen" and that "any tweet on racism and hatred is not me”. However, she later stated "I refuse to apologize to the Zionist lobby in America regarding my previous anti-Zionist statements under pressure from American government therefore they withdrew the award." The United States State Department later stated that Ibrahim had since left the United States to return to Egypt.
On March 8, 2013, a spokeswoman for the United States State Department stated that "Upon further review, the department has decided not to present her with the award" as American officials "didn't consider some of the public statements that she had made appropriate. They didn't comport with our values" while adding that "There were obviously some problems in our review process, and we're going to do some forensics on how that happened."
Samira Ibrahim (b. c. 1987) is an Egyptian activist who came to prominence during the Egyptian Arab Spring Uprising.
On March 9, 2011, she participated in a sit-in at Tahrir Square in Cairo. The military violently dispersed protest participants, and Samira and other women were beaten, given electric shocks, strip searched, and videotaped by the soldiers. They were also subjected to virginity tests. The tests were allegedly carried out to protect the soldiers from claims of rape.
After succeeding in placing the case in front of a civilian court, a court order was issued in December 2011 to stop the practice of “virginity tests”. However, in March 2012, a military courtexonerated Dr. Adel El Mogy from charges laid in connection with the virginity testing of Ibrahim.[1][2][3]
Ibrahim vowed to take her case to the international courts.[4]
In early March 2013, Ibrahim came under criticism after Samuel Tadros, writing in The Weekly Standard, accused her of posting anti-Semitic and anti-American statements on her Twitter account. These statements included quoting Adolf Hitler, writing: "I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society, takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it. Hitler.” In reaction to a suicide bombing of a bus of Israelis in Bulgaria, she wrote "Today is a very sweet day with a lot of very sweet news.”[5] In 2012 on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, she tweeted "Today is the anniversary of 9/11. May every year come with America burning".[6][7][8]
The American State Department subsequently announced that it will not be giving the International Women of Courage Award to her in light of these comments.[9][10]
Initially, Ibrahim claimed that her Twitter account had been "previously stolen" and that "any tweet on racism and hatred is not me”.[5] However, she later stated "I refuse to apologize to the Zionist lobby in America regarding my previous anti-Zionist statements under pressure from American government therefore they withdrew the award."[11] The U.S. State Department later stated that Ibrahim had since left the United States to return to Egypt.[12][13]
On March 8, 2013, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department stated that "Upon further review, the department has decided not to present her with the award" as American officials "didn't consider some of the public statements that she had made appropriate. They didn't comport with our values" while adding that "There were obviously some problems in our review process, and we're going to do some forensics on how that happened."[14]
Ebrahim Raisi (b. December 14, 1960, Mashhad, Iran — d. May 19, 2024, near Uzi, Iran) was President of Iran (2021–24) before his sudden death in a helicopter crash. The unpopular prosecutor — called the “Butcher of Tehran” for his role in the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988—was thrust to power by the clerical establishment as a potential successor to Ali Khamenei, Iran’s aging leader. He was one of the few figures trusted by hard-liners in both the clerical and security establishments, but his career proved emblematic of the corruption of the Islamic Republic and the suffering of the Iranian people. During his short presidency, the disconnect between the regime and the people erupted following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022 with the wide-reaching "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests that bordered on revolutionary.
Raisi grew up in the city of Mashhad, an important religious center for the Twelver Shi'a as the burial place of the eighth imam 'Ali al-Rida. Raisi was born at the advent of land reform (1960–63) and the White Revolution development program (1963–79), when Iran was undergoing profound changes in its distribution of power and wealth. Although the country saw rapid modernization and urbanization, the clerical establishment was among those most visibly disenfranchised by the shah’s reforms. This was especially true in Mashhad, where the clerical establishment had extensive property holdings and enormous influence on the local economy.
Raised in a clerical family, Raisi received a religious education. In 1975 he attended seminary in Qom, the foremost intellectual center of Shi'i Islam, and studied under some of Iran’s most prominent clerics. At a time when Iranians were broadly dissatisfied with the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi,many of the seminarians at Qom were inspired by the revolutionary ideals of Ruhollah Khomeini,whose interpretation of velayat-e faqih(guardianship of the jurist) sought to ensure clerical oversight of the government’s policy and administration. Raisi was purportedly an active participant in the events of 1978–79 that drove the shah into exile and established a system of government based on Khomeini’s vision.
After the Iranian Revolution, the fledgling Islamic republic faced a number of immediate challenges, ranging from the Western-educated loyalists of the shah to secularist left-wing dissidents to all-out war with neighboring Iraq. Raisi dedicated his career from the start to upholding the nascent regime against internal opposition. He underwent training in administration and soon joined the prosecutor’s office in Masjed Soleyman in southwestern Iran. Over the next six years, he gained further experience as a prosecutor for various jurisdictions, including Karajcity, Hamadan city, and Hamadan province. In 1985, he became deputy prosecutor in the country’s capital, Tehran. In 1988, as the burdens of instability and the Iran-Iraq War weighed heavily on the regime, Khomeini ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners (which he accused of collaborating with Iraq) and appointed Raisi to a committee tasked with determining whether prisoners were disloyal to the government.
After Ali Khamenei became rahbar (leader of Iran) in 1989, Raisi began to attain senior ranks within Iran’s judicial system. After serving as prosecutor of Tehran (1989–94), Raisi's most prominent positions included head of the General Inspection Organization (1994–2004) and prosecutor general of the Special Court for the Clergy (2012–21), posts that oversee the integrity of government bodies and officials. As first deputy to the chief justice (2004–14), Raisi played a key role in the crackdown on dissidents after the unrest that followed the 2009 presidential election. Outside of the judiciary, Raisi also became a member of the Assembly of Experts (2007–24), a deliberative body tasked with replacing the rahbar if the office becomes vacant.
In 2016, Khamenei appointed Raisi custodian of the shrine of ʿAlī al-Riḍā in Mashhad, placing him in charge of Iran’s largest bonyad (charitable trust). The appointment, which lasted until 2019, placed billions of dollars’ worth of assets—and a sizable chunk of Iran’s gross domestic product—under Raisi’s control and without formal oversight. Many observers saw the appointment as an opportunity to raise Raisi’s clout with the country’s clerical and business elite.
Despite his own high-level position within the regime, Raisi built an image as a principled government critic who was tough on corruption. He ran against the incumbent Hassan Rouhaniin the 2017 presidential election, criticizing Rouhani for concluding an international nuclear agreement (Joint ComprehensivePlan of Action, or JCPOA) that conceded too much while also failing to improve the socioeconomic condition of all but the wealthiest Iranians. Rouhani won in a landslide, apparently reflecting voters’ approval of the nuclear deal, but Raisi’s ability to garner 38 percent of the vote seemed to demonstrate that his populist rhetorichad nonetheless struck a chord. The withdrawal of the United Statesfrom the JCPOA a year later, accompanied by the reimposition of United States sanctions on Iran, left Raisi vindicated in the eyes of many Iranians.
Upon his appointment as head of the judiciary in 2019, Raisi immediately pursued corruption cases against government officials and prominent businessmen, albeitselectively. Televised proceedings lent bite to his bark as he continued to criticize Rouhani’s government. Heightened tensions with the United States also gave resonance to his criticism, especially after a series of skirmishes with United States forces in late 2019 and early 2020. When the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) downed Ukraine International Airlines flight 752in January 2020, mistaking the passenger plane for a United States cruise missile, Raisi oversaw the investigation into the tragic event. The investigation did little to hold Iranian officials publicly accountable, however, blaming the incident on errors of low-ranking operators.
When Raisi ran in the presidential election of 2021, he continued to project himself as a principled defender against government corruption. At the same time, he voiced support for negotiating an international nuclear agreement that would take into account Iranian interests. But it was his high profile that made him the clear front-runner on the ballot, his most serious challengers having been disqualified in the weeks before the election. With voter turnout slightly below 50 percent, he won by an overwhelming margin and was inaugurated in August 2021.
Although Raisi inherited a pervasive crisis that was brought about by international sanctions and the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, he showed more concern for regime security than economic relief at the beginning of his term. His first budget proposal allocated a significant increase in funding for the defense establishment but maintained austerity in domestic spending. The government ramped up its COVID-19 vaccination drive early in his presidency, but little was done to remedy the ailing economy, despite a water shortage and rising inflation. Little urgency was shown toward renewing the JCPOA, which would have lifted sanctions; Raisi first sought to strengthen ties with China and with Iran’s neighbors (including restoring relations with nearby Saudi Arabia in 2023) before engaging seriously in negotiations with the West. By the time a renewed deal was close at hand, new geopolitical developments had made the timing difficult for closing the deal.
In line with the increased investment in regime security, the government clamped down on dissent. It stepped up surveillance and censorship, including the enforcement of state-sanctioned attire by the so-called morality police (Gasht-e Ershad), and the number of executions spiked. Women, as well as ethnic and religious minorities, were disproportionately affected.
Meanwhile, the economy deteriorated further, as inflation soared and unemployment grew. Additionally, food prices increased because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In May, Raisi announced a program of “economic surgery” that included a sudden cut to subsidies for food. The price of some food items nearly tripled overnight.
The combined push for austere economic measures and regime security infuriated many Iranians. Protests picked up in May with the sudden spike in food prices. Although they were massive and widespread, those protests were dwarfed by the rage that brought Iranians to the street in September: Iranians demonstrated en masse after a Kurdish woman, Jina Mahsa Amini, died while in custody for “improper” clothing. Her death represented a microcosm of Iranians’ varying and many grievances, from the subjugation of women to the suppression of minorities and the overall indifference of the government toward its citizens’ welfare. Women took a leading role in the protest movement, removing their veils and cutting their hair in public demonstrations, and a chant long used by Kurdish activists— "Woman, Life, Freedom"(Kurdish: "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî”; Persian: “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi”)—was widely adopted. Although the protests transcended the boundaries of Iranian society, and even included Shiʿi clerics who favored having hijab covering be voluntary, Raisi blamed foreign actors for fomenting the unrest.
During the Israel-Hamas War that began in October 2023, Raisi grew increasingly confrontational towards Israel. Amid his rising rhetoric against Israel — and a historic visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the war — Iran’s allies across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi forces in Yemen, stepped up attacks on Israel. When Israeli forces killed senior officers of the IRGC’s Quds Force in Damascus in April 2024, Iran responded two weeks later by firing drones and missiles into Israeli air space for the first time in the history of the two countries. Raisi threatened a “severe” response if Israel retaliated. But when Israel attacked a military complex in Iran days later, Raisi remained silent on the matter as Iranian officials claimed that the Israeli strikes had been intercepted.
Days after the strikes, Raisi embarked on a renewed tour to build ties with neighboring countries. A high-profile visit to Pakistan culminated in an agreement to boost bilateral trade to $10 billion over five years. Raisi then traveled to Sri Lanka, where he inaugurated a hydropower project that had been constructed using Iranian technology and financial assistance. On May 19, as Raisi was returning from a trip to inaugurate new dams that were jointly constructed with Azerbaijan along the countries’ border, his helicopter crashed amid bad weather in the mountainous border terrain. The helicopter was located by rescuers the following day, but no survivors were found.
On May 19, 2024, Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials were killed when Raisi's helicopter crashed near the village of Uzi in East Azerbaijan province. Iran's semi-official news agency, Mehr News, described them as having been "martyred in the crash." Raisi was the second president of Iran to have died in office, following Mohammed-Ali Rajai, who died in a 1981 bombing.
Following confirmation of Raisi's death, Khamenei declared five days of national mourning. Hundreds gathered in Vali-e ,Asr square in mourning for the president. At a meeting of the Assembly of Experts on May 21, 2024, a flower-ringed portrait of Raisi was placed on his seat.
Leaders and officials of several countries and international organizations extended their condolences and sympathies. The United Nations Security Council stood for a minute of silence for Raisi. Raisi's death received mixed reactions among the public in Iran, with some mourning and others celebrating. Police in Tehran warned that anyone who appeared publicly happy about Raisi's death would be prosecuted.
Funerals for the helicopter crash victims began on May 21, 2024, in Tabriz. A procession of the remains, which were carried on a lorry, was attended by crowds estimated to be in the tens of thousands who were addressed by Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi. Raisi's and Amir-Abdollahian's remains were then taken to Tehran and transported to Qom before being returned to Tehran University for another funeral ceremony on May 22 presided by Khamenei and attended by Mokhber and foreign dignitaries, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who spoke at the event. Other attendees included Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a delegation from the Taliban regime of Afghanistan led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The Tehran funeral ceremony was also estimated to have had tens of thousands in attendance. The procession down Tehran's main boulevard was estimated to have been followed by hundreds of thousands. However, the funeral service turnout for Raisi was noticeably lower than that of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Raisi's remains were taken to Birjand on May 23 before being transported to Raisi's hometown of Mashhad, where he was buried on the same day at the Imam Reza shrine.
Ebrahim Raisolsadati (Persian: ابراهیم رئیسالساداتی; 14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi (Persian: ابراهیم رئیسی[ebɾɒːˈhiːm-eræʔiːˈsiː]ⓘ), was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until his death in 2024.[10][11][12] Raisi began his clerical studies at age 15, but his exact qualification is disputed. He was a Muslim jurist and part of the Principlist group.
Ebrahim Raisi was born on 14 December 1960 to a clerical family in the Noghan district of Mashhad. His father, Seyed Haji, died when he was 5.[5][14][15]
Raisi passed his primary education in "Javadiyeh school"; and then started studying in the Hawza (Islamic seminary). In 1975, he went to "Ayatollah Boroujerdi School" to continue his education in Qom Seminary.[citation needed] He has claimed to have received a doctorate degree in private law from Motahari University; however, this has been disputed.[6]
Raisi began his studies at the Qom Seminary at the age of 15.[5][17] He then decided to study in the Navvab school for a short time. After that, he went to Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Mousavi Nezhad school, where he studied while also teaching other students. In 1976, he went to Qom to continue his studies at the Ayatollah Borujerdi school.
"For a while" before investigation by the Iranian media, he "referred to himself" as "Ayatollah" on his website. However, according to Vatanka, the media "publicized his lack of formal religious education" and credentials, after which Raisi ceased claiming to hold the aforementioned rank. After this investigation and criticism he "refer[ed] to himself as hojat-ol-eslam", a clerical rank immediately beneath that of Ayatollah.[21]
Raisi subsequently again declared himself an Ayatollah shortly before the 2021 presidential election.[22] The decree by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointing him as President, refers to him as a hojat-ol-eslam.[23]
In 1981, he was appointed the prosecutor of Karaj. Later on, he was also appointed Prosecutor of Hamadan and served both positions together. He was simultaneously active in two cities more than 300 km away from each other.[24] After four months, he was appointed Prosecutor of Hamadan Province.[5]
He was appointed Deputy prosecutor of Tehran in 1985 and moved to the capital.[25] After three years and in early 1988, he was placed in the attention of Ruhollah Khomeini and received special provisions (independent from judiciary) from him to address legal issues in some provinces like Lorestan, Semnan and Kermanshah.[citation needed]
As deputy prosecutor general of Tehran, Raisi was a member of Tehran's "death commission" during the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners. Raisi's involvement in the executions gained publicly in 2016, when Hussein-Ali Montazeri released an audio recording of an August 1988 meeting of the Tehran "death committee." In a 2018 lecture as Iran's president, Raisi did not deny his presence at the 1988 meeting. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, during the lecture Raisi regarding the killings as "one of the proud achievements of the system."[26] For his role, Raisi earned a reputation of being a hanging judge[27][28] and was nicknamed the "Butcher of Tehran".[13]
Other persons were Morteza Eshraghi (Prosecutor of Tehran), Hossein-Ali Nayeri (Judge), and Mostafa Pourmohammadi (MOI representative in Evin). Names of the first two persons are mentioned in Khomeini's order. Pourmohammadi has denied his role but Raisi did not comment publicly on the matter.[29][30] Due to the involvement of this prosecution committee in thousands of executions, it has been informally called the 'death committee'.[31][13]
The 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners were a series of state-sponsored executions of political prisoners across Iran, starting on 19 July 1988 and lasting for approximately five months.[32][33][34][35][36] The majority of those killed were supporters of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, although supporters of other leftist factions, including the Fedaian and the Tudeh Party of Iran (Communist Party), were executed as well.[37][38] According to Amnesty International, "thousands of political dissidents were systematically subjected to enforced disappearance in Iranian detention facilities across the country and extrajudicially executed pursuant to an order issued by the Supreme Leader of Iran and implemented across prisons in the country. Many of those killed during this time were subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the process."[39] Because of the large number, prisoners were loaded into forklift trucks in groups of six and hanged from cranes in half-hour intervals.[40][better source needed]
The killings have been described as a political purge without precedent in modern Iranian history, both in terms of scope and coverup.[41] However, the exact number of prisoners executed remains unknown with several sources giving estimates. Amnesty International, after interviewing dozens of relatives, put the number in thousands;[42] and then-Supreme LeaderRuhollah Khomeini's deputy, Hussein-Ali Montazeri put the number between 2,800 and 3,800 in his memoirs.[43]Human Rights Watch puts the estimate at between 2,800 to 5,000 people.[13] Amnesty describes the state's refusal to provide families with the location of the mass graves of their loved ones as 'ongoing crimes against humanity.'[44]
From 2004 until 2014, Raisi served as First Deputy Chief Justice of Iran, being appointed by Chief Justice Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. He kept his position in Sadeq Larijani's first term as Chief Justice. He was later appointed Attorney-General of Iran in 2014, a position that he held until 2016, when he resigned to become Chairman of Astan Quds Razavi.[45] He was also served as Special Clerical Court prosecutor by the order of the Supreme Leader, Seyyed Ali Khamenei from 2012 to 2021.[46]
Raisi was a member of the board of trustees of Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order for ten years by order of Seyyed Ali Khamenei. He was also a member of the "Supreme Selection Board". He was the founder of "Fatemeh Al-Zahra Seminary" (in Tehran) and the first secretary of the headquarters for reviving the enjoining good and forbidding wrong in the country.[47][48] He was appointed the prosecutor of Hamedan province, and was active there for three years since 1982 to 1984.[49]
His other executive and oversight responsibilities include the positions such as membership in the "Supreme Council of Cyberspace", "the Monetary and Credit Council", and "the Anti-Corruption Headquarters".[50]
He became chairman of Astan Quds Razavi on 7 March 2016 after the death of his predecessor Abbas Vaez-Tabasi,[51][52] a position which he stayed in until 2019.[53] He was the second person to serve this office from 1979. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei enumerated serving the pilgrims of the holy shrine, especially poor people, and also serving nearby, especially the poor and dispossessed as two important responsibilities of Raisi in his appointment order.[54]
Raisi was named as one of the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces (JAMNA)'s presidential candidates in February 2017.[55][56] His candidacy was also supported by the Front of Islamic Revolution Stability.[57][58] He officially announced his nomination in a statement published on 6 April, and called it his "religious and revolutionary responsibility to run", citing the need for a "fundamental change in the executive management of the country" and a government that "fights poverty and corruption."[59] He registered on 14 April 2017 at the Ministry of Interior saying it's time to perform citizenship rights, not only writing act.[60]
On 15 May 2017, conservative candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf withdrew his candidacy in favor of Raisi.[61] It was speculated that Ghalibaf would be Raisi's first vice president if he was elected.[62] They also joined in a campaign rally in Tehran with each other.
After the election results were announced, Raisi received 15,786,449 out of 42,382,390 (38.30% of the votes). He lost to incumbent president Rouhani and ranked second. He did not congratulate Rouhani on his re-election as the president,[63] and asked the Guardian Council to look into "violations of the law" before and during the elections, with 100 pages of attached documentation.[64]
In 2021, Raisi ran again for the presidency and won the election.[65][66] The election had a 48.8% turnout, and 63% went to Raisi.[67] Out of 28.9 million votes, around 3.7 million votes were not counted, likely because they were blank or otherwise invalid protest votes.[68] According to many observers, the 2021 Iranian presidential election was rigged in favour of Raisi.[69][70][71]
Almost 600 candidates, 40 of which were female, registered in the election, of which 7 men were approved a month before the election by the 12 jurists and theologians on the Guardian Council (an unelected body that has the final decision on candidate validity based on the strength of 'the candidates' qualifications'). Three of those seven candidates were subsequently pulled out before polling day. Before he withdrew, reformist candidate Mohsen Mehralizadeh hinted that the vote would be a foregone conclusion, saying during a candidate TV debate that the ruling clerics had aligned "sun, moon and the heavens to make one particular person the president," according to The Economist. Former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, among those barred from running, said in a video message that he would not vote, declaring: "I do not want to have a part in this sin."[72]
Raisi was appointed the president of Iran on 3 August 2021, through a decree issued by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. During his inauguration speech, Raisi stated that his government would seek to lift the sanctions on Iran imposed by the United States, but added that it would not let foreigners dictate how its economy is run.[23] He was sworn-in before the Islamic Consultative Assembly on 5 August during a ceremony attended by around 260 officials, both from Iran and other countries. In his speech, he stated that Iran was responsible for stabilising the Middle East, that he would resist foreign pressure on Iran but widen its external relations, especially with Iran's neighbours, promised to support any diplomatic move to lift the American sanctions and assured that Iran's nuclear programme was only meant for peaceful purposes. He also promised that he would try to improve the quality of life for Iranians and defend human rights.[73]
Raisi's nomination of Ahmad Vahidi as Minister of Interior among his cabinet nominations was quickly strongly condemned by both Argentina and Israel, with the former having requested his arrest through a red notice of Interpol for his alleged involvement in the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires. The Argentine foreign ministry stated that Vahidi's designation was an "affront to the Argentine justice and the victims of the terrorist attack".[77]
On 20 August, Raisi appointed former Minister of CultureMohammad Hosseini as Vice President for Parliamentary Affairs.[78] 18 out of 19 of his cabinet picks were approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on 25 August, except Hossein Baghgoli, whom Raisi had chosen as the Minister of Education. Many of the ministerial choices are sanctioned by the United States and several are veterans of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces.[79]
Raisi meanwhile appointed former IRGC commander-in-chief Mohsen Rezaee as the Vice President for Economic Affairs on 25 August. He also appointed him as the Secretary of the Supreme Council for Economic Coordination [fa], as well as the Secretary of the Iranian government's Economic Committee.[80] On 26 August, Iran had a renewed diplomatic clash with Argentina, when the latter condemned the appointment of Rezaee. Rezaee is also wanted by Argentina for alleged involvement in the AMIA bombing. Argentina "energetically" condemned his designation and added that "Iran must cooperate with the investigation" and added again that Rezaee's designation was another "affront to the Argentine justice".[81][82]
On 1 September, Raisi appointed former president of Al-Zahra UniversityEnsieh Khazali as Vice President for Women and Family Affairs and Mohammad Dehghan as Vice President for Legal Affairs.[83] On 4 September, he stated that Iran would resume talks over its nuclear programme, which have been stalled since his election victory, but not under pressure from Western countries.[84]
Importation of COVID-19 vaccine meanwhile surged since Raisi took office, with over 30 million doses being imported during the Iranian month of Shahrivar, more than the vaccine imports since February 2021, while 13.4 million were imported during the month of Mordad in which Raisi was sworn in. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the importation of 60 million more vaccines on 19 September.[89] In a pre-recorded speech before the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 21 September, Raisi stated that Iran wanted to resume talks over its nuclear programme. He also stated that the hegemony of the United States was being rejected across the world and criticised its sanctions on Iran as unjust.[90]
On 17 September, protests erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, and unrest spread all over the country.[91] President Raisi promised to set up a commission to investigate the murder, but this did not affect the protests, as law-enforcement agencies are allegedly retreating from small cities due to uncontrollable rioting.[92]
After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Raisi stated on 16 August that the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan offered a chance for stabilising the country, which Iran would support. He also called on all parties to form an inclusive government.[93] On 4 September, he urged that elections be held to elect a new Afghan government as soon as possible.[94] On 18 September, he stated that Iran will not allow the establishment of any terrorist group, including the Islamic State, along its border with Afghanistan and use it for attacks on other nations. In addition, he called on the Taliban to form an inclusive government.[95]
In April 2022, Raisi warned that Israel would be targeted by his country's armed forces if it made "the slightest move" against Iran.[96] During an interview in September of that year, he denounced the Abraham Accords and called Israel a "false regime".[97] Raisi threatened major Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Haifa, and stated that the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the establishment of a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea".[98]
Raisi said that his government's priority in the meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was to strengthen strategic ties between Iran and Syria.[99]
Negotiations with the U.S. over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have continued to be stalled under Raisi. with him accusing the Americans of "delaying and dragging their feet".[102]
Between 14–17 February 2023, Raisi visited China and met Chinese leader Xi Jinping. During the meeting, the two countries signed 20 cooperation agreements and agreed to boost relations.[103] Following the talks, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic ties cut in 2016 on 10 March after a deal brokered between the two countries by China following secret talks in Beijing.[104]
Raisi praised Hamas' 7 October attacks on Israel, stating that these actions would lead to the demise of Israel.[105] He condemned Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war and accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza "with the support of the United States and certain European countries."[106] In January 2024, he predicted that the Israel-Hamas war would result in "Israel's destruction."[98]
Raisi canceled a trip to Geneva in December 2023 due to accusations against him regarding his role in the torture and murder of prisoners in 1988, for which he could face arrest.[107][108]
Raisi was widely considered to be a hardliner in Iranian politics.[69][71] He strongly supported sex segregation. He said in a 2014 interview about planned segregation in Tehran Municipality "I think this is a good move because the majority of women do a better job in a totally relaxed atmosphere and fit are required."[109] He was a supporter of Islamization of universities, revision of the Internet and censorship of Western culture.[110][111][112] Raisi claimed that economic sanctions were an opportunity.[113] Raisi said: "We will have guidance patrols, but for managers." He also said: "If the government does well, the people will do well."[114] He stated that the amputation of thieves' hands, which is based on a very strict interpretation of Sharia,[115] is one of "our honours" and that such punishments will not be limited to now and will be continued in the future.[116][117] He stated that he should be honoured and esteemed for his role in the 1988 Iranian mass executions of political prisoners.[118]
In 2017, Raisi reported, "I see the activation of a resistance economy as the only way to end poverty and deprivation in the country."[124] He supports development of the agricultural sector over commercial retail, which "will eventually benefit foreign brands."[125]
In 2017, he promised to triple the monthly state benefits, currently Rls.450,000 per citizen, to tackle corruption and create six million jobs.[126] He said (about sanctions against Iran): "Sanctions should be seen as an opportunity for economic empowerment, and we should strengthen ourselves instead of falling short."[127]
Raisi said in regards to the issue of lifting sanctions: "every government that takes office (to be elected), should lift the oppressive sanctions, and it must be pursued seriously; and the neutralization of sanctions should be on the agenda and we should not condition the economy; Neither the corona nor the flood nor the sanctions should have an impact."[128]
In state-led media, Raisi said that "no one has the right to violate the freedom and rights of girls and women" and "it is incomplete to talk about culture and economy without the role of women". He emphasized that "women's rights are God-given, and the government should not only not lose this right, but it should also create the conditions for it to flourish" and "in many spaces, women's role-playing is empty and women's talent, creativity, initiative and innovation can be used a lot".[129][130] Despite these comments, Raisi signed orders creating stricter hijab restrictions for women in Iran.[131]
Raisi stated: "The intellectual of the society understands before the others and watches the threats of the society, and soon warns the society with his poetry and art and saves the society from falling asleep, like a muezzin." According to him, supporting the people of culture and art should not be verbal and should lead to action.[132] He said: "Teachers are the true intellectuals of society and must observe and warn of harm; teachers are the identifiers and civilizers of society."[133]
Raisi has made discriminatory remarks about homosexuality, calling same-sex relations "savagery". The Center for Human Rights in Iran asserts that this type of rhetoric exacerbates prejudice and violence against LGBTQ+ individuals in the country.[134] When visiting Uganda, after the country had recently passed a law instituting the death penalty for homosexuality, Raisi stated: "I believe that this issue, and these strong attacks by the West against the establishment of families and against the culture of the nations, is another area of cooperation for Iran and Uganda," further adding: "The Western countries try to identify homosexuality as an index of civilization, while this is one of the dirtiest things which have been done in human history." [135]
Like other Iranian leaders, Raisi publicly cast doubt on the historical authenticity of The Holocaust. After being asked on CBS's 60 Minutes if he believed the Holocaust happened, Raisi stated: "There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched."[136][137][98]
In 2024, Time magazine reported that both Ebrahim Raisi and Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei's son, were frontrunners for the position. Raisi's death in a helicopter crash in May 2024 cut short his potential candidacy.[142]
On 19 May 2024, Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials were killed when Raisi's helicopter crashed near the village of Uzi in East Azerbaijan province.[143] Iran's semi-official news agency, Mehr News, described them as having been "martyred in the crash."[144] Raisi was the second president of Iran to have died in office, following Mohammad-Ali Rajai, who died in a 1981 bombing.[145]
Following confirmation of Raisi's death, Khamenei declared five days of national mourning.[146] Hundreds gathered in Vali-e-Asr square in mourning for the president. At a meeting of the Assembly of Experts on 21 May, a flower-ringed portrait of Raisi was placed on his seat.[147]
Leaders and officials of several countries and international organizations extended their condolences and sympathies.[a] The United Nations Security Council stood for a minute's silence for Raisi.[201] Raisi's death received mixed reactions among the public in Iran, with some mourning and others celebrating.[202][203]Police in Tehran warned that anyone who appeared publicly happy about Raisi's death would be prosecuted.[202]
Funerals for the victims began on 21 May in Tabriz. A procession of the remains, which were carried on a lorry, was attended by crowds estimated to be in the tens of thousands who were addressed by Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi. Raisi's and Amir-Abdollahian's remains were then taken to Tehran and transported to Qom before being returned to Tehran University for another funeral ceremony on 22 May presided by Khamenei and attended by Mokhber and foreign dignitaries, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who spoke at the event, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a delegation from the Taliban regime of Afghanistan led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.[204] The Tehran funeral ceremony was also estimated to have had tens of thousands in attendance.[205][206][207][208] The procession down Tehran's main boulevard was estimated to have been followed by hundreds of thousands.[209] However, funeral service turnout was noticeably lower than that of Iranian Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimaniin 2020.[209] Raisi's remains were taken to Birjand on 23 May before being transported to his hometown of Mashhad, where he was buried on the same day at the Imam Reza shrine.[210][211][147] Government offices and private businesses were ordered to be closed on 22 May.[212]
Days of mourning were declared in Bangladesh, Cuba,[213] India, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,[214] Syria, and Turkey.[215][146][216][217] British Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat said that he "will not mourn" Raisi, adding that his "regime has murdered thousands at home, and targeted people here in Britain and across Europe".[218]United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described Raisi as "a man who had a lot of blood on his hands".[219] Israel criticised the United Nations for holding a minute's silence for Raisi, calling it a "disgrace".[220]Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the exiled dissident People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, said that Raisi's legacy was marked by his role in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, and described the crash as a "monumental and irreparable strategic blow to the mullahs' Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the entire regime," which would trigger "a series of repercussions and crises" within its leadership.[221]Taghi Rahmani, the husband of detained activist and Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, said Raisi's death would not structurally change the Iranian leadership under Khamenei.[202]
Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s President, Dies in Helicopter Crash at 63
The hard-line Shiite cleric was seen as a possible successor to Iran’s supreme leader. Mr. Raisi’s death comes at a moment of turbulence for a country facing a deepening conflict with Israel.
Rescuers Find Helicopter Carrying Iran’s President
0:55
After scouring a mountainous area of dense forest, rescuers found the remains of the aircraft, which had the president and foreign minister on board.CreditCredit...Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times
Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s president and a top contender to succeed the nation’s supreme leader, was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash. He was 63.
A conservative Shiite Muslim cleric who had a hand in some of the most brutal crackdowns on opponents of the Islamic Republic, Mr. Raisi was a protégé of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a devoted upholder of religious rule in the country.
Mr. Raisi’s presidency was shaped by two major events: the 2022 nationwide uprising, led by women and girls, demanding the end to the Islamic Republic’s rule and the government’s brutal crushing of that movement; and the current Middle East war with Israel, with which it had a long history of clandestine attacks.
As the president under Iran’s political system, Mr. Raisi did not set the country’s nuclear or regional policy. But he inherited a government that was steadily expanding its regional influence through a network of proxy militia groups and a nuclear program that was rapidly advancing to weapons-grade uranium enrichment levels following the United States’ exit from a nuclear deal.
Mr. Raisi endorsed and supported both of these policies and viewed them as essential for Iran to maintain its influence in the region and to exercise leverage over the West.
His death came as a yearslong shadow war became one of direct confrontation in the wake of Israel’s military assault on Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Mr. Raisi was born in the northeastern city of Mashhad to a family of clerics, and he studied at the country’s famous seminary in Qum before participating as an 18-year-old in the 1979 Islamic revolution, which deposed Iran’s shah. Just two years later, Mr. Raisi became a judge in the newly created Islamic Republic, beginning a steady ascent to the top of Iranian politics.
Like Mr. Khamenei and his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic revolution, Mr. Raisi donned a cleric’s black turban, one that is reserved for “sayyids,” or people who trace their lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad.
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A photo provided by the Iranian government showing Ebrahim Raisi, center, greeting Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in 2020. Between the two men is Hassan Rouhani, then Iran’s president, wearing a white turban.Credit...Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, via EPA, via Shutterstock
The issue of succession in Iran has become more pressing because Mr. Khamenei is 85 and frail. The selection of the next supreme leader is an opaque process of political rivalries and jockeying. Under the Constitution, an elected body of clerics called the Assembly of Experts picks the supreme leader.
Mr. Raisi was viewed as one of the top contenders for that role and was favored by the hard-line faction, as was Ayatollah Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, an influential cleric who helps run his father’s office. Mr. Raisi’s death essentially paves the path for the younger Mr. Khamenei to succeed his father.
Political analysts described Mr. Raisi as a loyal enforcer of Mr. Khamenei’s policies and a facilitator of the growing power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran’s politics and economy.
“He was not someone exuding charisma. His speeches were not motivating people to the streets. He was executing policy,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. “Above all, he was a regime insider. He was an ideologue who worked within the system and through the system.”
Mr. Raisi’s supporters, including conservative pundits on state media, praised him for reimposing strict religious and social rules, being intolerant of dissent and turning Iran’s policies away from the West toward more engagement with Russia and China.
From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Raisi was at the helm of Astan Quds Razavi, a powerful multibillion-dollar religious conglomerate under the control of Mr. Khamenei and believed to be one of his most significant sources of wealth.
In 2019, Mr. Raisi became the head of Iran’s judiciary, and during his tenure he oversaw some of the most brutal crackdowns on dissent. At least 500 people were killed during nationwide demonstrations in November 2019 in response to a spike in fuel prices. The judiciary arrested activists, journalists, lawyers and dual national citizens.
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Ebrahim Raisi, then Iran’s judiciary chief and a presidential candidate, greeted the news media after voting in Tehran in 2021.Credit...Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times
He became president in 2021 in an election that was widely seen as orchestrated to ensure his victory, with his most serious rivals having been disqualified.
Mr. Raisi campaigned as an anticorruption candidate but took up the presidency under a cloud of condemnation by government opponents and international rights groups. Rights groups highlighted Mr. Raisi’s background as a member of a four-person panel that ordered the execution of 5,000 political dissidents in 1988 without trials at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Mr. Raisi has not denied being part of the panel and said in a speech that he was a junior official appointed to the role by the supreme leader at the time.
“We lost a generation of political minds and activists who could have been important players in Iranian society,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran.
Mr. Raisi, he argued, played a hand in several of the most repressive moments of Iranian history, in particular the crackdowns on antigovernment protests in 2009 and 2022.
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The Green Movement in 2009 in Tehran, where the Iranian government accused many protesters of being foreign spies.Credit...The New York Times
Mr. Raisi took power three years after Donald J. Trump, as president, withdrew from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. After the United States exited the deal, Mr. Trump reimposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, hitting the country’s oil sales and banks. A year later, after Iran failed to reap the benefits of the nuclear deal, it returned to enriching uranium at a near weapons-grade level.
Mr. Raisi took office promising to pursue a “resistance diplomacy,” meaning a defiance of Western powers but an openness to negotiations, particularly with the United States, to return to the nuclear deal and to seek the removal of sanctions. But months of negotiations fell through in the fall of 2021, and no deal has been reached with the Biden administration.
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Mr. Raisi, right, with Xi Jinping in Beijing in 2023, in a photo released by the Chinese state news media.Credit...Yan Yan/Xinhua, via Associated Press
One of Mr. Raisi’s most important foreign policy achievements as president was one that had long eluded his predecessors: the restoration of ties with Iran’s longtime regional adversary, Saudi Arabia. In 2023, the two nations signed a deal in Beijing to re-establish diplomatic relations. Although largely symbolic, the agreement was seen as key to defusing their regional rivalry.
Mr. Raisi prioritized forging closer relations with Russia and China and pivoting away from the West, saying that Iran could not trust the United States and Europe after the collapse of the nuclear deal. Mr. Raisi’s government reached a sweeping 25-year economic, security and military deal with China: Iran agreed to sell Beijing discounted oil in exchange for $400 billion investments in Iran by Chinese companies in a wide range of sectors.
He also traveled to Moscow frequently to meet his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir V. Putin, and they deepened security and military relations. Iran has sold drones to Russia, which has used them in its war in Ukraine, although Mr. Raisi has denied this role.
Mr. Raisi’s impact on domestic policy during his presidency has been felt far more deeply, and his legacy is likely to be a contested one. During his rule, the country suffered severe economic downturns, driven by international sanctions and high unemployment.
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Inside the Grand Bazaar in Tehran in April.Credit...Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times
“If you want to think of his legacy, he left the country’s economy in ruins, and it has become more repressive,” said Sina Azodi, a lecturer on Iran at George Washington University. “Iran was never democratic or free, but, since 2021, political repression has increased. No voice of dissent is tolerated.”
Mr. Raisi also oversaw a brutal crackdown on antigovernment protests that erupted in 2022 after the death of a 21-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Her death set off a wave of protests led by women who took off their head scarves and called for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
After many Iranian women defied the mandatory hijab rule and appeared in public for over a year without covering their hair, Mr. Raisi announced this spring that he was going to re-enforce the hijab rule. His government dispatched the morality police back on the streets in April, after having earlier said the force was abolished, and many arrests of women turned violent.
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A police motorcycle burned during a protest in 2022 after Mahsa Amini, a 21-year-old Kurdish woman, died in police custody in Tehran.Credit...Wana News Agency, via Reuters
Allegations of human rights abuses, for which the United States imposed sanctions on Mr. Raisi in 2019, dogged him on the international stage until the last years of his life.
Last December, he canceled a visit to the United Nations in Geneva amid concerns that he could face arrest over his alleged role in the 1988 mass executions because Sweden had prosecuted a more junior Iranian judiciary official under crimes against humanity. But Mr. Raisi did attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York every year, delivering heated speeches that blamed the dissent in Iran on foreign enemies while portraying his country as a model of good governance and as an upholder of human rights.
Mr. Raisi is survived by his wife, Jamileh Alamolhoda, a university professor of philosophy and education and daughter of an ultra hard-line influential cleric, Ahmad Alamolhoda. The couple have two daughters and at least one grandchild.
