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Tag: Iran

  • Iranian presidential vote pits reformist against hardliners

    Iranian presidential vote pits reformist against hardliners

    Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  has kicked off the country’s presidential election on Friday, as Iranians decide whether to continue the country’s hardline conservative course or take a more moderate stance.

    Casting his vote in the capital Tehran, Khamenei urged the nation to participate in the vote to “prove the correctness and honesty of the system of the Islamic Republic.”

    Some 61 million voters in Iran are eligible to elect a successor to hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.

    The election comes amid a severe economic crisis, tensions with the West and frustrations among the public with the enforcement of state power and the government, especially among the younger population.

    The candidates seen as having the best chances to win the election are the hardliner Saeed Jalili, a former negotiator in nuclear talks with Western powers; parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf; and former health minister and reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian.

    During the campaign, Pezeshkian criticised the government’s strict policy on women wearing headscarves, but also expressed his loyalty to Khamenei and praised the attack launched on Israel with drones and missiles in April.

    While, leading voices from the reformist camp have pledged their support for him, and he may stand a good chance of winning if he reaches a second round.

    The cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi is also still in the running.

    In spite of the title of president, Raisi was only number two in Iran’s power structure as Khamenei functions as the head of state and has the final say in all strategic matters.

    He is also commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces.

    The Guardian Council, an extremely conservative supervisory body, had only authorised six candidates for the election.

    Earlier in the week, two conservative hardliner candidates withdrew their nominations in an effort to unite support among hard-line voters heading to the polls.

    Many Iranians, especially young people, have however lost faith in major political change at home.

    The death of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in autumn 2022 sparked nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule, but the protests were quashed long ago with harsh punishments for demonstrators.

    If none of the candidates secures an absolute majority, a runoff vote will take place on July 5.

    The first results from the first round are expected on Saturday.

  • Iran accuses Israel of killing military adviser in Syria, vows to retaliate

    Iran accuses Israel of killing military adviser in Syria, vows to retaliate

    Hossein Salami, the Commander-In-Chief of the Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC,  has threatened to retaliate Israel’s latest airstrike near Aleppo in Syria.

    It was gathered that the airstrike which was carried out on Monday killed members of the IRGC.

    Saeed Abyar the military adviser in Syria was among those killed in the airstrike.

    However, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that Salami said Israel will pay for the death of Abyar.

    The Israeli attack was said to have targeted several locations in Aleppo’s countryside, primarily in the town of Hayyan.

    The Syrian Defence Ministry also confirmed casualties from the Israeli aggression.

  • Mammoth crowd gather as Iranians bury late president Raisi in city of Mashhad

    Mammoth crowd gather as Iranians bury late president Raisi in city of Mashhad

    The remains of late president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi,was yesterday buried in his home city of Mashhad in the country.

    Raisi was laid to rest in the holy shrine of Imam Reza, a revered figure in Shia Islam on Thursday.

    A large crowd gathered in city of Mashhad to witness the burial of the 63-year-old hard-line cleric.

    It would be recalled that  that seven people died alongside Raisi in an helicopter crash on Sunday due to bad weather in Iran’s mountainous north-west.

    They include Raisi’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, 60, who was buried on Thursday at the Shah Abdol-Azim shrine in Rey, a southern suburb of the capital Tehran.

    Acting President Mohammad Mokhber, who will serve until an election is held on 28 June, was present there to make preparations for the burial.

    State media described Thursday’s event as “historic”, while Mashhad’s mayor was quoted as saying that “three million mourners” had attended – a figure almost equal to the city’s entire population.

  • Final resting place of Iran’s late president revealed

    Final resting place of Iran’s late president revealed

    Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash at the weekend, is to be buried in his home city of Mashhad on Thursday.

    Raisi is to be laid to rest at the city’s shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth imam of Shia Islam.

    High-ranking representatives of friendly states are expected to attend, including Russian parliamentary leader Vyacheslav Volodin.

    Iran’s state railway company has organised special trains to take mourners from Tehran to the north-eastern city.

    There have been several ceremonies and public displays of mourning for Raisi, late foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other victims of Sunday’s crash.

    Millions of mourners flocked to a funeral procession in Tehran on Wednesday.

    Raisi and Amirabdollahian were killed in the crash with seven other occupants of the ill-fated helicopter.

    They went down in dense cloud in the mountains while travelling back from a meeting with Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan.

    Iran’s religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered five days of national mourning, and a nationwide holiday was held on Wednesday.

    Raisi’s death has provoked mixed reactions in Iran.

    While supporters of the country’s Islamic regime have mourned the loss of an important political figure, critics have highlighted the heightened repression his administration oversaw.

  • Ebrahim Raisi: Iran to hold presidential elections June 28

    Ebrahim Raisi: Iran to hold presidential elections June 28

    Iran has announced that it will hold presidential elections on June 28 to usher in new president, following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in a helicopter crash according to reports from State media.

    “The election calendar was approved at the meeting of the heads of the judiciary, government, and parliament,” state television said. “According to the initial agreement of the Guardian Council, it was decided that the 14th presidential election will be held on June 28.”

    It would be recalled that Iranians on Monday mourned the death of Raisi whose helicopter crashed into a fog-shrouded mountain, setting off a period of political uncertainty in the Islamic republic.

    Raisi, 63, his foreign minister and seven others died when the aircraft went down on Sunday in a remote area of northwestern Iran, where the wreckage was only found on Monday morning.

    The ultraconservative Raisi had been in office since 2021, a turbulent time during which Iran was rocked by mass protests, an economic crisis deepened by US sanctions, and armed exchanges with arch-enemy Israel.

    Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate power  in the country declared five days of mourning and said vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, would assume interim presidential duties until elections are held within 50 days.

    “The Iranian nation has lost a sincere and valuable servant,” said 85-year-old Khamenei, whom Raisi had been expected by many observers to one day succeed.

    Thousands of mourners massed in central Tehran’s Valiasr Square to pay their respects to Raisi and to Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

  • US finally reacts to death of Iran’s president Raisi, says his hands were soiled with blood

    US finally reacts to death of Iran’s president Raisi, says his hands were soiled with blood

    The United States has finally reacted to the death of late Iranian president, Ebrahim Rais.

    According to Washington, late Ebrahim Raisi, had a “lot of blood on his hands.”

    The White House made their reaction known on Monday in a condolence message after Raisi’s death.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Raisi and some government  officials were involved in a helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan province on Sunday evening.

    However, the US National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby said Raisi was responsible for “atrocious” rights abuses in Iran and had supported regional proxies, including Hamas.

    Addressing reporters, Kirby said: “This was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands.”

    Kirby, however, said: “As in any other case, we certainly regret in general the loss of life and offer official condolences as appropriate.”

    Earlier, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced on Monday five days of mourning for President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash.

    “I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran,” said Khamenei in an official statement a day after the death of Raisi

  • BREAKING: 24 Hours after President Raisi’s death earthquake hits Iran

    BREAKING: 24 Hours after President Raisi’s death earthquake hits Iran

    24hours after the demise of President Ebrahim Raisi a 3.7 magnitude earthquake hit Malayer in the Hamedan province of Western Iran on Monday.

    No immediate reports of damage or casualties have been recorded.

    The development comes amidst the nation’s grief following the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi in an helicopter crash on Sunday.

    Iran has been plunged into deep mourning after Raisi died in a helicopter crash

    Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has also declared a five-day period of national mourning to honour the late president and members of his entourage.

    The earthquake occurred at 08:20:52 local time at a depth of 10km and was reported by the Seismological Centre of the Geophysics Institute of the University of Tehran.

    The tremor’s epicenter was located 9 kilometers from Samen, 18 kilometers from Malayer, and 18 kilometers from Oshtorinan.

  • Raisi’s demise unlikely to change Iran foreign policy, say analysts

    Raisi’s demise unlikely to change Iran foreign policy, say analysts

    The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash could lead to a period of political instability but is unlikely to change Iran’s foreign policy or its role in the Middle East, analysts said on Monday.

    The hardline cleric was considered a favourite to succeed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, 85, who has ultimate authority in Iran, and Raisi’s death will pose a challenge to the country’s authorities in ensuring the stability of the political system.
    But analysts are betting on the continuity of the Islamic republic’s foreign policy which is the domain of Ayatollah Khamenei and the secretive Supreme National Security Council.

    “A successor may emerge who is as conservative and loyal to the system as Raisi was,” said Ali Vaez, an Iran specialist at the International Crisis Group.

    “On foreign policy, the supreme leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will continue to dominate strategic decisions”, he said on social media site X, anticipating “more continuity than change”.
    Farid Vahid, an Iran expert at the Fondation Jean-Jaures, said that “Raisi was absolutely in lockstep with the Guard Corps”, which “has left a lot of room and freedom for the Guards in the region”.
    With Raisi, “decision-making was very fluid because he was completely subservient to the leader”, Vahid told AFP.

    “The question for the Iranian conservatives is to find someone who will be elected… and who will not cause them too many problems.”

    Iran is scheduled to hold presidential elections within 50 days to replace Raisi, with vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, to assume interim duties.
    ‘Status quo’
    Raisi’s death comes at a time tensions are soaring between the Islamic republic and Israel following the start of the war in Gaza after Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7.
    Those tensions peaked in mid-April, when Iran carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel, unleashing 350 drones and missiles, most of which were intercepted with the help of the United States and other allied countries.

    Tehran also supports the so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel — a network of armed groups including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, and the Huthi rebels in Yemen.

    “It will be (the) status quo,” Jason Brodsky, an expert at the Middle East Institute, said of Iran’s relations with these groups.
    “The IRGC reports to the supreme leader and liaises with Hezbollah, the Huthis, Hamas and the militias across the region. The modus operandi and the grand strategy of the Islamic republic will remain the same,” he told the BBC.

    “The strategic decision maker in the system is the supreme leader, the president is an implementer.”
    Iran denies it wants to acquire nuclear weapons, but it is no longer complying with its commitments under the 2015 deal with world powers which limited its nuclear ambitions in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

    The pact, known by the acronym JCPOA, fell apart after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States under then-president Donald Trump in 2018 which led to the reimposition of crushing sanctions on Iran.

    ‘A few nuances’
    On Monday, Iran’s long-time nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was named acting foreign minister to replace the top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdolahian, who was also killed in the helicopter crash.

    “The Iranian foreign ministry already has a new head and the same priority: negotiations on the nuclear programme”, Hasni Abidi, director of the Study and Research Centre for the Arab and Mediterranean World in Geneva, said on X.

    Brodsky said that “Iran’s nuclear program and the decision-making surrounding it will remain unchanged because at the end of the day it’s the supreme leader and the Supreme National Security Council which are overseeing the nuclear file”.

    The ultraconservative Raisi, 63, had been in office since 2021, during a time that has seen Iran rocked by mass protests and an economic crisis deepened by sweeping US sanctions.

    Abidi said that the search for the next supreme leader — and not the death of the Iranian president — would be a game changer.

    “Raisi was the future leader. He had the support of all the elements of the system”, he said.
    Vahid said there would only ever be radical change in Iran’s foreign policy towards Israel or the United States or to its nuclear programme if there was “a change of the regime”.

    “The death of Raisi may bring a few nuances, a few differences,” he said, but no major change should be expected “as long as the leader is alive and the Guards are there”.

  • Iran: Reactions pour in over President Raisi’s death

    Iran: Reactions pour in over President Raisi’s death

    Numerous Arab countries expressed their condolences following the death of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a helicopter crash.

    Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, writing on X, offered his sincere condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    Also Egypt and Jordan had expressed solidarity with Iranians.

    Jordan’s King Abdullah II said his deepest condolences go out to the brothers, leadership, government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the death of brother President Ebrahim Raisi.

    Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Iran, expressed his condolences for this painful incident and the resulting great loss.

    The government in Baghdad also expressed its sympathy.

    Lebanon, for its part, announced a three-day mourning period.

    Words of sadness also came from Iranian-financed and backed militias in the region.

    Hezbollah in Lebanon said Raisi was a great supporter and a staunch advocate of our causes, especially in Jerusalem and in Palestine.

    Similar words came from the Houthis in Yemen.

    Raisi’s death was not only a loss for Iran, but for the entire Islamic nation, Palestine and Gaza, said a spokesman on X.

    Iran maintains its military influence in the region primarily through the support of militias or political movements.

    Syria’s government is directly allied with Iran.

    Hezbollah and the Houthis form part of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” that Iran has set up against arch-enemy Israel.

    Hamas mourns Iranian president, others

    The Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas has expressed sadness over the helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president and his foreign minister and others.

    The movement said in a statement on Monday that “we express our shared feelings of sadness and pain with the brotherly Iranian people, and our complete solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

    Hamas praised what it described as “honourable positions in support of our Palestinian cause, and the support of the legitimate struggle of our people against the Zionist entity.”

    It commended Iran’s political and diplomatic efforts “to stop the Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.”

    Iran is a main supporter of Hamas. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash at age 63.

    The country’s foreign minister and seven others also died after the crash in a remote,
    mountainous area of Iran’s northwest.

  • Iran releases funeral details for late President Raisi

    Iran releases funeral details for late President Raisi

    Memorial ceremonies for President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian are planned in Iran for Tuesday.

    Raisi, Amirabdollahian and seven senior Iranian officials died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

    Local media reported that a ceremony is being planned in the provincial capital of Tabriz in the morning, followed by a ceremony in the religious stronghold and pilgrimage city of Qom.

    The date for the funerals of the two statesmen has not yet been announced.

    Raisi is to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad.

    The helicopter crashed in dense fog on the mountains over East Azerbaijan Province while the deceased were travelling back from a meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.