Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line protégé of the country’s supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels and launched a major drone-and-missile attack on Israel, has died. He was 63.
Raisi’s sudden death, along with Iran’s foreign minister and other officials in the helicopter crash Sunday in northwestern Iran, came as Iran struggles with internal dissent and its relations with the wider world.
A cleric first, Raisi once kissed the Quran, the Islamic holy book, before the United Nations and spoke more like a preacher than a statesman when addressing the world.
Raisi, who earlier lost a presidential election to the relatively moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani in 2017, ended up coming to power four years later in a vote carefully managed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to clear any major opposition candidate.
His arrival came after Rouhani’s signature nuclear deal with world powers remained in tatters after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, setting in motion years of renewed tensions between Tehran and Washington.
But while saying he wanted to rejoin the deal, RaQuranisi’s new administration instead pushed back against international inspections, in part over an ongoing suspected sabotage campaign carried out by Israel targeting its nuclear program.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the demise of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. In a post on social media platform X, PM Modi acknowledges Raisi’s contribution in strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship .
“Deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the people of Iran. India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow,” PM Modi tweeted.