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1 1 (May 21, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/govepdg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Iran's President Dies in Helicopter Crash May 21, 2024 On May 19, 2024, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials were killed when their helicopter crashed amid bad weather in mountainous northwestern Iran. Raisi's death comes at a particularly tense moment for the Iranian government, which last month launched its first-ever direct military attack on Israel and continues to face public discontent at home. While Raisi's death appears unlikely to substantively change Iranian foreign or domestic policies in the near term, related developments may have implications for U.S. policy and Congress. Ebrahim Raisi and His Presidency Born in 1960, Raisi was reportedly a participant in the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah and replaced his government with the Islamic Republic. After a period of religious education, Raisi was appointed deputy prosecutor general of Tehran and served on the commission that ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. He continued to advance through the hierarchy of the Islamic Republic, including by winning election to the Assembly of Experts (the body responsible for choosing Iran's paramount decisionmaker, the Supreme Leader) in 2006. He placed second in the 2017 presidential election behind incumbent Hassan Rouhani, after which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Raisi as the head of Iran's judiciary. While Raisi was in that position, the United States sanctioned him pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13876. In 2021, Raisi again ran for president, winning an exceptionally uncompetitive race in which the government's Guardian Council disqualified moderate candidates from running. Raisi's accession to the presidency further fueled long-standing speculation that he might succeed Khamenei as Supreme Leader (see below). Less than half of eligible Iranians voted, the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic's history up to that point. Raisi's presidency was dominated by continued tensions with the United States, including attacks by Iran- backed groups on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria; economic challenges; closer Iranian ties with Russia and China; and the protest movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. Protests appeared to recede in 2023 in the wake of a violent government crackdown that included alleged crimes against humanity (per a United Nations fact-finding mission). Further declines in voter turnout in March 2024 parliamentary elections and May 2024 run-offs, as well as the relatively muted public response to Raisi's death, may signal continued popular discontent. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12365 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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