“President Raisi played a pivotal role in shaping our multilateral system and fostering international cooperation.”
(UNGA President Dennis Francis Tehran Times, 31st May 2024)
The “Butcher of Tehran” is Dead, Long Live the Legacy of the “Hangman of Tehran”
On the 19th May 2024 the call came out that a Bell 212 helicopter travelling with the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, and the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, were involved in an ‘incident’ where the helicopter they were travelling in was forced into a ‘hard landing’ an innocent play on a word that meant the aircraft had crashed. The wording may have been changed due to the aging aircraft and not admitting that they were fragile, old and unreliable. Nothing is defective and flawed in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Bell 212 is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968 and had been developed for the Canadian military in the late 1960s as an upgrade of the original UH-1 Iroquois. The Bell 212, said to have been operated by the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran by local media, was likely purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. the US arms embargo against the Islamic Republic's government and the rebranded Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force soon saw most Western-made aircraft fall into disrepair. The Tehran regime, however, continued to operate a limited number of aircraft by cannibalising the existing fleet and reverse-engineering the much-needed parts.
The following day after the Tehran Times reported that the president’s helicopter had come down close to a copper mine called Sungun. It’s located in between Jolfa and Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and it’s roughly between 70km (43 miles) to 100km (62 miles) away from the city of Tabriz, one of the largest cities in Iran and also the city that the president of Iran and foreign minister were headed toward.
The president and his entourage had been visiting the border between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The reason for the president of Iran and the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev was to officially inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi dam, constructed jointly by Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic. It had been an important collaboration as there had been a great deal of friction between the two countries for some time. Both countries were trying to rebuild a tattered friendship. Iran, had attempted to overthrow Azerbaijan because of its friendship with the State of Israel and that Iran and Azerbaijan share a border with one another.
The Qiz-Qalasi dam is located in the Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan. With a capacity of 62 million cubic meters, it will supply water to the irrigation and drainage networks of Khoda Afarin county. A hydroelectric power station coupled with the dam has also been designed to generate 270 MWh of electricity per annum.
The area that the aircraft had crashed was mountainous with poor weather hampering the location of the crashed aircraft. Visibility was poor so drones could not be used to locate the downed craft. Initially it was reported that up to 40 rescue teams had been deployed in order to locate the helicopter. Rain was making the going difficult due to the muddy terrain that had to be covered.
The Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei declared five days of public mourning following the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in the helicopter crash in northwestern Iran. “In this bitter tragedy, the Iranian nation lost a warm-hearted, humble and valued servant,” said Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that President Raisi never stopped his hard and round-the-clock work for the people of Iran despite being faced with criticisms of ill-wishers.
Ayatollah Khamenei also expressed sadness over the death of other senior officials who were with President Raisi in the helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as well as Tabriz Friday prayer leader Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem and the provincial governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malek Rahmati.
The others on board who also died in the crash were identified as IRGC Brig-Gen Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi, the head of the president's security team, pilots Col Mohsen Daryanush and Col Seyyed Taher Mostafavi, and technician Maj Behrouz Qadimi.
Interim Period
According to Article 131 of the Constitution of Iran, in case of death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness lasting longer than two months of the president, or when his term in office has ended and a new president has not been elected due to some impediments, or similar other circumstances, his vice president shall assume, with the approval of the Leader, the powers and functions of the president.
In case of the death of the vice president, or other matters which prevent him from performing his duties, or when the president does not have a vice president, the Leader shall appoint another person in his place. Iran legally had 50 days in order to elect a new president. Presidential elections would be held on the 28th June 2024.
The Iranian constitution was amended in 1989, when important changes were instituted.
In the period that followed the deaths of the two key political offices it was announced that the vice president Mohammad Mokhber would become the interim president. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “Based on Article 131 of the Constitution, Mr. Mokhber would take over the position of the management of the executive power and he is tasked along with the heads of the judicial and legislative powers to arrange an election to elect new president maximumly within 50 days.” While Raisi held the title of president, his authority was constrained by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, within whom ultimate power is vested in the Islamic Republic.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guardian Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif announced that according to the Constitution, the vice president will take over as interim president with the Leader’s approval. Tahan Nazif in an interview on the 20th May 2024 said that with the Leader’s approval, a council consisting of the Iranian judiciary chief, parliament speaker, and vice president will take measures to hold elections within 50 days.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was appointed on the 20th May 2024 as acting foreign minister. The appointment of Bagheri, who served as deputy foreign minister under the previous foreign minister, Amir-Abdollahian, was announced by government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi on state television.
According to the Iranian political hierarchy, the head of the state is the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and the president is considered the head of the government, the second-in-command.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said, “The Iranian nation shouldn’t be worried. There will be no disruption to the operations of the country.”
Celebrations
Social media inside the Islamic Republic is somewhat limited and controlled by the government.
Voice of America (VoA) reported, that the head of Iran’s cyber police warned against that type of social media activity, saying "we are carefully monitoring cyberspace" and advising citizens that "in the current sensitive situation" they should "refrain" from publishing content that "provokes" public sentiments.
But away from the censorship others gave their reaction.
Iran International[1] which is owned by Volant Media UK Ltd. It is licensed in the United Kingdom to Global Media Circulating Ltd as an editorial news service based in London and is managed by DMA Media Ltd circulated an article of Iranians celebrating the deaths of the prominent leaders.
The news outlet claimed that Iranians around the world were celebrating at the disappearance of Raisi and Abdollahian.
NBC News stated that although some were shocked by the news others were different. Social media inside the Islamic Republic is somewhat limited and controlled by the government.
Remarks such as:
“Goodbye to the butcher of Tehran. You will not be missed!”
“His death is karma at its finest but for a mass murderer, this swift end may seem far too easy,”
“The once untouchable tyrant meets a fate he often dealt to others,”
VoA provided videos posted to social media and shared with VOA Persian showing Iranians dancing to music in London, Copenhagen, The Hague, and Hamburg.
The Israeli government had yet to make an official statement regarding the death of top Iranian officials. However, Israeli politicians celebrated the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, his foreign minister and other officials that had perished in the helicopter crash. Avigdor Lieberman, former defence minister and leader of the opposition right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, told the Ynet news site that Israel “will not shed a tear for the death of the Iranian president.”
Former US Vice President Mike Pence said “the world is a safer place” without him. Pence wrote, “Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is dead and the world is a safer place. Raisi was responsible for the murder of thousands of Iranian political prisoners he ordered executed in 1988, 1,500 Iranians slaughtered in the 2019 protests and the years of terrorist violence sown by Iran across the region that claimed American lives.”
US-based Reza Pahlavi, whose father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted in the 1979 Islamic revolution and died in exile in 1980, warned the death of Raisi would not affect the policies of the Islamic republic at home or abroad.
“Today, Iranians are not in mourning. Ebrahim Raisi was a brutal mass-murderer unbefitting of condolences,” Pahlavi said in a post on his official Instagram. “Sympathy with him is an insult to his victims and the Iranian nation whose only regret is that he did not live long enough to see the fall of the Islamic republic and face trial for his crimes,” the former crown prince added which was reported in the Arab News.
Condolences and Sympathises
On the other side numerous world leaders gave their condolences to the loss of life. Regional leaders sent their sympathises including the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of Palestinian resistance groups, “have honoured the memory of the martyrs President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian.”
According to the Iraqi Al-Nujaba TV, the Popular Resistance Committees issued a statement on Monday, announcing, "With deep sorrow and grief, we honour the memory of Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, and their accompanying delegation, who were martyred in the painful incident of the helicopter crash."
The committees also emphasized that Palestine and its people and resistance would never forget the services that martyrs Ayatollah Raisi and Amirabdollahian rendered for the Palestinian nation and cause.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas expressed its condolences over the martyrdom of President Raisi and his accompanying delegation to the Supreme Leader, the government, and the people of Iran.
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened a plenary session on the 30th May 2024 to express condolences to the Iranian government and people following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
The session began with a moment of silence and included remarks from UNGA President Dennis Francis, who commemorated the Iranian officials who lost their lives in a helicopter crash on the 19th May.
“President Raisi played a pivotal role in shaping our multilateral system and fostering international cooperation,” Francis noted, also praising Amir Abdollahian as “a consummate diplomat.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged that Raisi “led Iran during a challenging period for the country, the region, and the world.”
Burundi’s UN Ambassador Zéphyrin Maniratanga, representing African nations, lauded Raisi as a “dedicated leader who served his nation and promoted international cooperation, particularly with African countries.”
“Raisi was a visionary whose commitment to equity, solidarity, and multilateralism was evident throughout his leadership,” he added.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, spoke on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), highlighting Raisi’s contributions to the OIC’s mission, including advocating for Palestinian rights.
“Through the late President’s leadership and the support of other OIC leaders, the Organization has become a stronger force for global peace, security, and prosperity,” Akram said.
The Tehran Times reported; Throughout his presidency, extending from August 3, 2021, to May 20, 2024, the martyr was keen to revitalize the Islamic nation and reduce the artificial gaps by promoting unity and rapprochement. During his tenure, the Islamic Republic also took advanced steps in normalizing bilateral ties with its opponents and reassuring them that there was no truth to the American myth of an “alleged Iranian ambition” in West Asia.
For his part, the unprecedented diplomat, Dr Amir Hossein Abdollahian, had, since the onset of the “Battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood,” multiple tours as he moved between Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Riyadh, Doha, Muscat, Beijing, etc., stressing Iran’s position in support of the Palestinian people, and seeking to unify Arab and Islamic viewpoints.
The Blame Propaganda
Mohammad Javad Zarif, former Foreign Minister of Iran, blamed American sanctions on aviation parts for the crash of a chopper carrying President Ebrahim Raisi.
In an interview with state TV, he said the sanctions compromise Iran's access to modern aviation facilities, thus implicating the US in the Sunday chopper crash in northwestern Iran killing Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
"One of the culprits behind yesterday’s tragedy is the United States, because of its sanctions that bar Iran from procuring essential aviation parts," Zarif asserted during the interview.
But, in spite of sanctions, Iran continues to manufacture and supply its own armed forces and proxies around the region, in addition to Russia, with state-of-the-art missiles and drones. Armed groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran’s own Quds Forces boast long range high-tech weaponry.
The Tehran Times issued a brief report on the helicopter crash on the 24th May 2024. The Iranian Armed Forces have issued an initial report on the helicopter crash that resulted in the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation.
An investigative team dispatched to the crash site on Monday has gathered significant information regarding potential contributing factors, according to the report released on the 23rd May 2024.
The report reveals that the helicopter was following its designated flight path when it crashed into mountainous terrain. It caught fire upon impact, but no evidence of gunfire or other external damage was found on the wreckage.
Iranian drones located the crash site at 05:00 a.m. on Monday, and rescue teams arrived shortly thereafter. Communications between the aircraft and ground control prior to the incident showed no irregularities. The Armed Forces emphasize that the investigation is ongoing, and any further findings will be communicated to the public.
Who was Ebrahim Raisi?
Butcher of Tehran
In July 1988 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini authorised a fatwa[2] to establish a three man committee in each of the thirty-one provinces. Each team was to consist of a Sharia (Islamic law) judge, an intelligence ministry official and the provinces prosecutor general or his deputy. In the capital of the new Islamic Republic of Iran’s capital, Tehran, the prosecutor general was Morteza Eshraghi, Tehran’s prosecutor general, with Ebrahim Raisi serving as Eshraghi’s deputy which enabled him to become a de facto member of that committee. The group were informally dubbed the Tehran “Death Committee.”
The death committee oversaw mass executions in 1988. It was believed that the government of Tehran murdered a minimum of 5,000 ‘political’ prisoners during that period under the direction of the four man Death Committee. Over a period of approximately two months the Death Committee were responsible for hanging a minimum of 100 people a day. A great deal of those who were killed were mostly in their twenties, a few others were young teenagers or in their thirties.
In July 1988 interrogations[3] took place with certain questions asked such as, if they would publicly plead “guilty” of treason, denounce the actions their colleagues, spy for the Iranian regime, participate in regime firing squads, or run through minefields at the Iran-Iraq war front. If a prisoner said no to any of these questions, he or she would be condemned to death. Those condemned were either killed by firing squad or hanged. The mass executions came to end in September 1988.
On the 1st May 2018 Raisi broke his silence on the massacres. Raisi publicly defended the mass killings, albeit in coded language, in a lecture which was documented by Amnesty International. He did not dispute his presence at a meeting on the issue but noted that “during the period [in question], I was not the head of the court… The head of the court issues sentences whereas the prosecutor represents the people.” At the same time, using the word “confrontation” in apparent reference to the mass killings, he regarded them as “one of the proud achievements of the system” and praised Ruhollah Khomeini as a “national hero,” thereby pushing the onus of the responsibility for the killings towards the dead leader.
Ebrahim Raisi earned his nicknames’ ‘the Hanging Judge’, ‘the Hangman of Tehran’ and the ‘the Butcher of Tehran’ from this period.
He served as Tehran’s prosecutor-general from 1989 to 1994, deputy chief of the Judicial Authority for a decade from 2004, and then national prosecutor-general in 2014.
During the period of 27th July 2004 to the 23rd August 2014 Raisi was the 2nd Deputy Chief of Justice of Iran. The office is responsible for the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The 2021 Presidential Elections
There’s no political spin like dictatorship political spin. On the 18th June 2021 Iran went to the poles to elect a new president. Iranians were encouraged to turn out and vote; Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Mousavi stated that a high turnout would reduce foreign threats, but no specifics were given. And on the 17th June 2021 the outgoing president, Khamenei stated that the elections were ‘democratic’! On the 18th June 2021 the 13th presidential election was held and the winner was Ebrahim Raisi who was tipped to win even before the first vote was cast. There was no competition. The Iranian unelected Guardian Council ensured that. Figures released after the winner was announced stated that 28.6 million ballots had been counted of which 17.8 million votes were for Raisi. Eligible voters in Iran were 59, 310,000. The state-linked Iranian Student Polling Agency estimated that the turnout would be above 40% which would be the lowest since the 1979 Revolution. Many stayed at home wondering what was the point in voting. But, with all these figures the outgoing Iranian president rescued credibility by stating that there was an ‘epic participation’ disappointing their enemies. The election only matters to the masters of Iran not the people.
Raisi was inaugurated to the 8th president of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 3rd August 2021.
Demonstrating under the Raisi Presidency
The death of Mahsa Amini on the 16th September 2022 by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ‘morality police’ over the wearing of a headscarf (hijab) caused a possible upset that could have been even greater than the fuel protests of 2019-2020 (bloody November) and the Green Movement of 2009. “The death of the young girl also broke our heart,” said the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on the 3rd October 2022 at a graduation ceremony of cadet officers. So much so that the enquiry by his officials cleared those responsible of any wrong doing.
The theocratic Revolutionary Forces of Iran’s anti-riot police shot defenceless demonstrators with live rounds or metal pellets. The Iranian regime continuously lied to the Iranian people as to who was rightfully to blame for the death of Amini and attribute the culpability to the Kurds, the Israelis, the Americans and others who decided to stand up to the Islamic Republic regime.
Those responsible for hiding the truth had killed innocent civilians including women and children in Iraq and Iran’s autonomous region of Kurdistan. Many countries who are free due to their constitution and who are able to demonstrate in a free manner without the threat of being shot or disfigured showed their support against the murder of the Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini by demonstrating outside Iranian embassies around the world. Those demonstrations stood against the tyranny that led the Islamic Republic of Iran and those who govern.
The world had shown the leadership of Iran that they stood with the murdered girl and not the theocratic government of the Islamic Republic nor the Raisi presidency. Females from around the globe showed their support against a country of those who desired to dominate and control one half of the human race, the female population. The Iranian government had shown no remorse for Amini but had the greatest respect for the police who shown no mercy when it came to unarmed and vulnerable demonstrators who strongly wanted a change in the law and if nothing else then to respect females and their human rights.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of Iran Iran’s Forensic Medicine claimed “today, it is obvious to everyone that the death of a girl was completely an excuse.”
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the Foreign Minister who died in the helicopter crash said, "who believes that the death of a girl is so important to Westerners?"
The callous use of words and phrases give an indication of the regime under Raisi. The quote from Ejei when he stated, “the death of a girl was completely an excuse.” He cannot even say her name. Then Abdollahian when he said, “who believes that the death of a girl is so important to Westerners?" Neither show any remorse about Amini.
Riot police when attempting to stop the demonstrations used not just live rounds but also pellet cartridges in shotguns. These weapons were pointed at teenagers and fired at point blank ranges. The aiming points were the eyes and the genitals in order to disfigure the youngsters and in the case of females an attempt to stop them having children.
The Norway-based non-profit organisationIran Human Rights reported that 537 protesters were killed by state security forces, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates more than 19,400 individuals were arrested.
The United Nations on the 18th March 2024 reported, that there are “credible figures” that indicate there were 551 deaths, at least 49 women and 68 children, “and we found that those occurred in 26 out of the 31 provinces of Iran over multiple months”, the Mission found.
Ms. Hossain explained that many protesters “removed their hijab in public places as an act of defiance against long-standing discriminatory laws and practices”.
Men and boys joined in the protests in solidarity too, the Council heard, along with minorities who demanded equality.
” What we found was that security forces shot at protesters and also at bystanders at very short distances in a targeted fashion, causing injuries to their heads, necks, torsos, genital areas, but particularly to the eyes,” reported Ms. Hossain. “We found hundreds of protesters had these life changing injuries, with many of them now blinded and branded essentially for life marked as dissidents.”
It appeared that the ideology of Ebrahim Raisi had carried on from 1988, “Revolution Before the People.”
The Iranian Population
Raisi was elected on numerous promises one of which was to bring down the high rate of inflation. This was affecting the purchase of staple dietary products which the average Iranian was finding it difficult to place any form of decent food on the table due to the rise in prices.
The population of Iran had had enough of the lies and corruption led by the previous presidency and were hoping of a better future which never happened.
The people had had enough of having 60% inflation which reflected on the price of food that they have to pay in order to put nourishment on the table which Raisi promised to tackle and never did. Lawyers who had been promised a wage increase by Raisi which had not been delivered by the very man who was once head of their profession. The farmers had had enough of having no water to grow crops because of corruption and the mismanagement of the precious liquid. Pensioners had had enough of being promised a rise in their pension and the government not delivering, Raisi. The teachers who educated or indoctrinated the next generation with deceptions from text books written by those responsible for propaganda that had been approved by the Raisi government. The population of Iran had had enough when they saw the privileged going to Turkey and buying products that the ordinary people could not dream of purchasing especially when the cost of bread and other basic commodities were so high. They had had enough of the lies that the state-controlled media and press broadcasted by hiding the truth.
A great deal of the unrest was placed upon the United States, The State of Israel and the United Kingdom who were accused of plotting to overthrow the government and were using Masha Amini and their reason for high inflation as a means of fermenting the discontent.
1st March 2024 Iranian Elections
On the 1st March 24 the Iranians had the chance of voting on two important bodies. The Parliamentary elections and the Assembly of Experts. Voting was to be run concurrently on the same day. The last time the Iranians went to the ballot box it was for a new president in 2021. However, like everything in a corrupt system the presidential vote was no different. Most of the candidates were thrown out with only a few others allowed to stand.
It was explained that whoever won the post would be the prime candidate for the position of Supreme Leader once the current leader died. The Supreme Leader is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran (above the president). At the moment the current Supreme Leader is Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei (born 15th July 1939) an Iranian Twelver Shia marja' and politician who has been the second Supreme Leader of Iran since 1979. He previously served as third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was elected to Supreme Leader 1989 being only the second to hold the position since the Iranian revolution in 1979.
The turnout for the 2024 elections were marginally lower than the 2021 elections. People do not see the reason for voting as everything for them remains the same with no change no matter who is in power.
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, had been tipped to succeed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who in April 2024 was 85 years old. Raisi would then become the third Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guardian Council
The Guardian Council (also known as the Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council) is a 12-member council with significant power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Guardian Council can veto legislation passed by the parliament (Majlis) to ensure bills align with Islamic laws and the Iranian Constitution. The council oversees elections, including approving or disqualifying candidates running for local, parliamentary, presidential, or Assembly of Experts positions.
The council consists of six Islamic faqihs (experts in Islamic Law) appointed by the Supreme Leader, and six jurists elected by the Majlis from among Muslim jurists nominated by the Chief Justice. Its influence extends to controlling the interpretation of Islamic values in Iranian law, vetting candidates, and shaping legislation
The Guardian Council plays a crucial role in selecting Iran’s president.
Election Monitoring Agency (EMA): Managed by the Guardian Council, this institution vets registered candidates and selects a handful to run in the presidential election.
Candidates must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a twelve-member body consisting of six clerics (selected by Iran’s Supreme Leader) and six lawyers (proposed by the Supreme Leader-appointed head of Iran’s judicial system and voted in by the Parliament).
Those approved by the Guardian Council are put to a public vote. The winner is the candidate who receives a majority (50% plus one) of votes. If no candidate receives enough votes, another election is held between the two candidates with the most votes the following Friday.
The President of Iran is elected every four years by direct, popular vote, but the Supreme Leader holds much more power in Iran’s political system
Iran Presidential Election Registration
Tasnim News on the 30th May 2024 announced that he registration process for the 14th round of Iran’s presidential elections got underway at the Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital Tehran. Registering the candidates started at 0800 hrs at the order of Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi.
Eligible applicants had the chance of submitting the required documents within a deadline of five days. The names of the hopefuls would then be handed over to the Constitutional Council, the 12-member body that oversees elections and legislation. The body would vet and pronounce a final ruling on the competency of the hopefuls according to constitutional requirements.
The Iranian population will be given the opportunity to go to the polls and elect a new president in a nationwide election to be held on the 28th June 2024.
The five-day registration period, began on the 30th May 2024, ended on the 3rd June 2024 with the final list of candidates to be published on 11th June 2024.
The results as to who would be eligible for the presidential office were to be announced on the 5th June 2024. The presidential candidates would be whittled down from this group so that the population will have little choice as to who they should choose after the 11th June announcement.
The possibility of yet another low turnout to vote is more than likely. Iranians cannot vote for who would be best placed as president for the good of the people and who would make a better life for them. This president may be elected to continue Ruhollah Khomenei’s Islamic Republic without opposition but that is not a forgone conclusion in this case. For those who support the corrupt dictatorship they will vote, for those who hate living under repression they will not see the point. After all, one dictator is the same as another.
The announcement of 15 candidates from the selection process was announced in the Tehran Times on the 5th June 2024. A number of them have some form of blemish’s including embezzlement and corruption charges or have attempted to become president in the past but were rejected by the Guardian Council. Some are believed to lack experience in operational fields
Presidential campaigns according to the Tehran Times, will begin on 12th June and will run until 27th June 2024, providing ample time for candidates to present their platforms to the electorate. This election represents a critical juncture for Iran, offering an opportunity to redefine its domestic and international policies and address complex challenges, such as economic sanctions and regional tensions.
Presidential elections will be held on the 28th June 2024.
Paul Ashley
Additional Information
[1] Iran International
Iran International is a Persian-language news television channel headquartered in London aimed at Iranian viewers, and broadcasting free-to-air by satellite. Iran International was established in May 2017 and has broadcast its programmes from both London and Washington, D.C. In February 2023, Iran International moved its headquarters temporarily to Washington, D.C. due to increased threats from the Iranian government against their UK-based journalists, but back to London in September 2023. It is available online, via radio and via satellite broadcasting worldwide including Iran. The channel has been charged of being an arm of Saudi Arabia and has received media attention for its reporting on Iranian human rights violations, political developments, LGBTQ+ rights and other topics sensitive to the regime in Iran.
The Penguin Dictionary of Islam (Azim Nanji with Razia Nanji) 2008, pages 51,52
[2] ‘Fatwa’ Legal opinion rendered by a Muslim scholar regarded to having appropriate status and training. Such opinion may be sought from scholars who are known as MUFTI in the Sunni tradition and as mujtahid among the Shia, but are not necessarily binding.
While the idea originated in the need to provide religiously credible and well-established responses to questions of practice of the faith and daily behaviour, the concept developed throughout Muslim history into a more formal, legal notion. The mufti acted in a consultative capacity in Muslim courts as well as interpreting Islamic law as an appointed official of the state. The practice of issuing a fatwa has continued in modern times as a mechanism for dealing with personal, social, legal and religious issues. Page 7
[3] Deadly Fatwa: Iran’s 1988 Prison Massacre
This report documents and analyses the Iranian government’s massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Pursuant to a fatwa issued by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, the government systematically interrogated, tortured and summarily executed thousands of political prisoners. Many families were never informed about the executions and many of the victims were buried in unmarked mass graves. The Iranian government has never identified those who were secretly executed and tortured, and has never issued an explanation for this crime.
(UNGA President Dennis Francis Tehran Times, 31st May 2024)
The “Butcher of Tehran” is Dead, Long Live the Legacy of the “Hangman of Tehran”
On the 19th May 2024 the call came out that a Bell 212 helicopter travelling with the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, and the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, were involved in an ‘incident’ where the helicopter they were travelling in was forced into a ‘hard landing’ an innocent play on a word that meant the aircraft had crashed. The wording may have been changed due to the aging aircraft and not admitting that they were fragile, old and unreliable. Nothing is defective and flawed in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Bell 212 is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968 and had been developed for the Canadian military in the late 1960s as an upgrade of the original UH-1 Iroquois. The Bell 212, said to have been operated by the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran by local media, was likely purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. the US arms embargo against the Islamic Republic's government and the rebranded Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force soon saw most Western-made aircraft fall into disrepair. The Tehran regime, however, continued to operate a limited number of aircraft by cannibalising the existing fleet and reverse-engineering the much-needed parts.
The following day after the Tehran Times reported that the president’s helicopter had come down close to a copper mine called Sungun. It’s located in between Jolfa and Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and it’s roughly between 70km (43 miles) to 100km (62 miles) away from the city of Tabriz, one of the largest cities in Iran and also the city that the president of Iran and foreign minister were headed toward.
The president and his entourage had been visiting the border between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The reason for the president of Iran and the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev was to officially inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi dam, constructed jointly by Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic. It had been an important collaboration as there had been a great deal of friction between the two countries for some time. Both countries were trying to rebuild a tattered friendship. Iran, had attempted to overthrow Azerbaijan because of its friendship with the State of Israel and that Iran and Azerbaijan share a border with one another.
The Qiz-Qalasi dam is located in the Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan. With a capacity of 62 million cubic meters, it will supply water to the irrigation and drainage networks of Khoda Afarin county. A hydroelectric power station coupled with the dam has also been designed to generate 270 MWh of electricity per annum.
The area that the aircraft had crashed was mountainous with poor weather hampering the location of the crashed aircraft. Visibility was poor so drones could not be used to locate the downed craft. Initially it was reported that up to 40 rescue teams had been deployed in order to locate the helicopter. Rain was making the going difficult due to the muddy terrain that had to be covered.
The Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei declared five days of public mourning following the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in the helicopter crash in northwestern Iran. “In this bitter tragedy, the Iranian nation lost a warm-hearted, humble and valued servant,” said Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that President Raisi never stopped his hard and round-the-clock work for the people of Iran despite being faced with criticisms of ill-wishers.
Ayatollah Khamenei also expressed sadness over the death of other senior officials who were with President Raisi in the helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as well as Tabriz Friday prayer leader Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem and the provincial governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malek Rahmati.
The others on board who also died in the crash were identified as IRGC Brig-Gen Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi, the head of the president's security team, pilots Col Mohsen Daryanush and Col Seyyed Taher Mostafavi, and technician Maj Behrouz Qadimi.
Interim Period
According to Article 131 of the Constitution of Iran, in case of death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness lasting longer than two months of the president, or when his term in office has ended and a new president has not been elected due to some impediments, or similar other circumstances, his vice president shall assume, with the approval of the Leader, the powers and functions of the president.
In case of the death of the vice president, or other matters which prevent him from performing his duties, or when the president does not have a vice president, the Leader shall appoint another person in his place. Iran legally had 50 days in order to elect a new president. Presidential elections would be held on the 28th June 2024.
The Iranian constitution was amended in 1989, when important changes were instituted.
In the period that followed the deaths of the two key political offices it was announced that the vice president Mohammad Mokhber would become the interim president. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “Based on Article 131 of the Constitution, Mr. Mokhber would take over the position of the management of the executive power and he is tasked along with the heads of the judicial and legislative powers to arrange an election to elect new president maximumly within 50 days.” While Raisi held the title of president, his authority was constrained by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, within whom ultimate power is vested in the Islamic Republic.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guardian Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif announced that according to the Constitution, the vice president will take over as interim president with the Leader’s approval. Tahan Nazif in an interview on the 20th May 2024 said that with the Leader’s approval, a council consisting of the Iranian judiciary chief, parliament speaker, and vice president will take measures to hold elections within 50 days.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was appointed on the 20th May 2024 as acting foreign minister. The appointment of Bagheri, who served as deputy foreign minister under the previous foreign minister, Amir-Abdollahian, was announced by government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi on state television.
According to the Iranian political hierarchy, the head of the state is the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and the president is considered the head of the government, the second-in-command.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said, “The Iranian nation shouldn’t be worried. There will be no disruption to the operations of the country.”
Celebrations
Social media inside the Islamic Republic is somewhat limited and controlled by the government.
Voice of America (VoA) reported, that the head of Iran’s cyber police warned against that type of social media activity, saying "we are carefully monitoring cyberspace" and advising citizens that "in the current sensitive situation" they should "refrain" from publishing content that "provokes" public sentiments.
But away from the censorship others gave their reaction.
Iran International[1] which is owned by Volant Media UK Ltd. It is licensed in the United Kingdom to Global Media Circulating Ltd as an editorial news service based in London and is managed by DMA Media Ltd circulated an article of Iranians celebrating the deaths of the prominent leaders.
The news outlet claimed that Iranians around the world were celebrating at the disappearance of Raisi and Abdollahian.
NBC News stated that although some were shocked by the news others were different. Social media inside the Islamic Republic is somewhat limited and controlled by the government.
Remarks such as:
“Goodbye to the butcher of Tehran. You will not be missed!”
“His death is karma at its finest but for a mass murderer, this swift end may seem far too easy,”
“The once untouchable tyrant meets a fate he often dealt to others,”
VoA provided videos posted to social media and shared with VOA Persian showing Iranians dancing to music in London, Copenhagen, The Hague, and Hamburg.
The Israeli government had yet to make an official statement regarding the death of top Iranian officials. However, Israeli politicians celebrated the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, his foreign minister and other officials that had perished in the helicopter crash. Avigdor Lieberman, former defence minister and leader of the opposition right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, told the Ynet news site that Israel “will not shed a tear for the death of the Iranian president.”
Former US Vice President Mike Pence said “the world is a safer place” without him. Pence wrote, “Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is dead and the world is a safer place. Raisi was responsible for the murder of thousands of Iranian political prisoners he ordered executed in 1988, 1,500 Iranians slaughtered in the 2019 protests and the years of terrorist violence sown by Iran across the region that claimed American lives.”
US-based Reza Pahlavi, whose father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted in the 1979 Islamic revolution and died in exile in 1980, warned the death of Raisi would not affect the policies of the Islamic republic at home or abroad.
“Today, Iranians are not in mourning. Ebrahim Raisi was a brutal mass-murderer unbefitting of condolences,” Pahlavi said in a post on his official Instagram. “Sympathy with him is an insult to his victims and the Iranian nation whose only regret is that he did not live long enough to see the fall of the Islamic republic and face trial for his crimes,” the former crown prince added which was reported in the Arab News.
Condolences and Sympathises
On the other side numerous world leaders gave their condolences to the loss of life. Regional leaders sent their sympathises including the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of Palestinian resistance groups, “have honoured the memory of the martyrs President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian.”
According to the Iraqi Al-Nujaba TV, the Popular Resistance Committees issued a statement on Monday, announcing, "With deep sorrow and grief, we honour the memory of Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, and their accompanying delegation, who were martyred in the painful incident of the helicopter crash."
The committees also emphasized that Palestine and its people and resistance would never forget the services that martyrs Ayatollah Raisi and Amirabdollahian rendered for the Palestinian nation and cause.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas expressed its condolences over the martyrdom of President Raisi and his accompanying delegation to the Supreme Leader, the government, and the people of Iran.
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened a plenary session on the 30th May 2024 to express condolences to the Iranian government and people following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
The session began with a moment of silence and included remarks from UNGA President Dennis Francis, who commemorated the Iranian officials who lost their lives in a helicopter crash on the 19th May.
“President Raisi played a pivotal role in shaping our multilateral system and fostering international cooperation,” Francis noted, also praising Amir Abdollahian as “a consummate diplomat.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged that Raisi “led Iran during a challenging period for the country, the region, and the world.”
Burundi’s UN Ambassador Zéphyrin Maniratanga, representing African nations, lauded Raisi as a “dedicated leader who served his nation and promoted international cooperation, particularly with African countries.”
“Raisi was a visionary whose commitment to equity, solidarity, and multilateralism was evident throughout his leadership,” he added.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, spoke on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), highlighting Raisi’s contributions to the OIC’s mission, including advocating for Palestinian rights.
“Through the late President’s leadership and the support of other OIC leaders, the Organization has become a stronger force for global peace, security, and prosperity,” Akram said.
The Tehran Times reported; Throughout his presidency, extending from August 3, 2021, to May 20, 2024, the martyr was keen to revitalize the Islamic nation and reduce the artificial gaps by promoting unity and rapprochement. During his tenure, the Islamic Republic also took advanced steps in normalizing bilateral ties with its opponents and reassuring them that there was no truth to the American myth of an “alleged Iranian ambition” in West Asia.
For his part, the unprecedented diplomat, Dr Amir Hossein Abdollahian, had, since the onset of the “Battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood,” multiple tours as he moved between Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Riyadh, Doha, Muscat, Beijing, etc., stressing Iran’s position in support of the Palestinian people, and seeking to unify Arab and Islamic viewpoints.
The Blame Propaganda
Mohammad Javad Zarif, former Foreign Minister of Iran, blamed American sanctions on aviation parts for the crash of a chopper carrying President Ebrahim Raisi.
In an interview with state TV, he said the sanctions compromise Iran's access to modern aviation facilities, thus implicating the US in the Sunday chopper crash in northwestern Iran killing Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
"One of the culprits behind yesterday’s tragedy is the United States, because of its sanctions that bar Iran from procuring essential aviation parts," Zarif asserted during the interview.
But, in spite of sanctions, Iran continues to manufacture and supply its own armed forces and proxies around the region, in addition to Russia, with state-of-the-art missiles and drones. Armed groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran’s own Quds Forces boast long range high-tech weaponry.
The Tehran Times issued a brief report on the helicopter crash on the 24th May 2024. The Iranian Armed Forces have issued an initial report on the helicopter crash that resulted in the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation.
An investigative team dispatched to the crash site on Monday has gathered significant information regarding potential contributing factors, according to the report released on the 23rd May 2024.
The report reveals that the helicopter was following its designated flight path when it crashed into mountainous terrain. It caught fire upon impact, but no evidence of gunfire or other external damage was found on the wreckage.
Iranian drones located the crash site at 05:00 a.m. on Monday, and rescue teams arrived shortly thereafter. Communications between the aircraft and ground control prior to the incident showed no irregularities. The Armed Forces emphasize that the investigation is ongoing, and any further findings will be communicated to the public.
Who was Ebrahim Raisi?
Butcher of Tehran
In July 1988 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini authorised a fatwa[2] to establish a three man committee in each of the thirty-one provinces. Each team was to consist of a Sharia (Islamic law) judge, an intelligence ministry official and the provinces prosecutor general or his deputy. In the capital of the new Islamic Republic of Iran’s capital, Tehran, the prosecutor general was Morteza Eshraghi, Tehran’s prosecutor general, with Ebrahim Raisi serving as Eshraghi’s deputy which enabled him to become a de facto member of that committee. The group were informally dubbed the Tehran “Death Committee.”
The death committee oversaw mass executions in 1988. It was believed that the government of Tehran murdered a minimum of 5,000 ‘political’ prisoners during that period under the direction of the four man Death Committee. Over a period of approximately two months the Death Committee were responsible for hanging a minimum of 100 people a day. A great deal of those who were killed were mostly in their twenties, a few others were young teenagers or in their thirties.
In July 1988 interrogations[3] took place with certain questions asked such as, if they would publicly plead “guilty” of treason, denounce the actions their colleagues, spy for the Iranian regime, participate in regime firing squads, or run through minefields at the Iran-Iraq war front. If a prisoner said no to any of these questions, he or she would be condemned to death. Those condemned were either killed by firing squad or hanged. The mass executions came to end in September 1988.
On the 1st May 2018 Raisi broke his silence on the massacres. Raisi publicly defended the mass killings, albeit in coded language, in a lecture which was documented by Amnesty International. He did not dispute his presence at a meeting on the issue but noted that “during the period [in question], I was not the head of the court… The head of the court issues sentences whereas the prosecutor represents the people.” At the same time, using the word “confrontation” in apparent reference to the mass killings, he regarded them as “one of the proud achievements of the system” and praised Ruhollah Khomeini as a “national hero,” thereby pushing the onus of the responsibility for the killings towards the dead leader.
Ebrahim Raisi earned his nicknames’ ‘the Hanging Judge’, ‘the Hangman of Tehran’ and the ‘the Butcher of Tehran’ from this period.
He served as Tehran’s prosecutor-general from 1989 to 1994, deputy chief of the Judicial Authority for a decade from 2004, and then national prosecutor-general in 2014.
During the period of 27th July 2004 to the 23rd August 2014 Raisi was the 2nd Deputy Chief of Justice of Iran. The office is responsible for the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The 2021 Presidential Elections
There’s no political spin like dictatorship political spin. On the 18th June 2021 Iran went to the poles to elect a new president. Iranians were encouraged to turn out and vote; Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Mousavi stated that a high turnout would reduce foreign threats, but no specifics were given. And on the 17th June 2021 the outgoing president, Khamenei stated that the elections were ‘democratic’! On the 18th June 2021 the 13th presidential election was held and the winner was Ebrahim Raisi who was tipped to win even before the first vote was cast. There was no competition. The Iranian unelected Guardian Council ensured that. Figures released after the winner was announced stated that 28.6 million ballots had been counted of which 17.8 million votes were for Raisi. Eligible voters in Iran were 59, 310,000. The state-linked Iranian Student Polling Agency estimated that the turnout would be above 40% which would be the lowest since the 1979 Revolution. Many stayed at home wondering what was the point in voting. But, with all these figures the outgoing Iranian president rescued credibility by stating that there was an ‘epic participation’ disappointing their enemies. The election only matters to the masters of Iran not the people.
Raisi was inaugurated to the 8th president of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 3rd August 2021.
Demonstrating under the Raisi Presidency
The death of Mahsa Amini on the 16th September 2022 by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ‘morality police’ over the wearing of a headscarf (hijab) caused a possible upset that could have been even greater than the fuel protests of 2019-2020 (bloody November) and the Green Movement of 2009. “The death of the young girl also broke our heart,” said the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on the 3rd October 2022 at a graduation ceremony of cadet officers. So much so that the enquiry by his officials cleared those responsible of any wrong doing.
The theocratic Revolutionary Forces of Iran’s anti-riot police shot defenceless demonstrators with live rounds or metal pellets. The Iranian regime continuously lied to the Iranian people as to who was rightfully to blame for the death of Amini and attribute the culpability to the Kurds, the Israelis, the Americans and others who decided to stand up to the Islamic Republic regime.
Those responsible for hiding the truth had killed innocent civilians including women and children in Iraq and Iran’s autonomous region of Kurdistan. Many countries who are free due to their constitution and who are able to demonstrate in a free manner without the threat of being shot or disfigured showed their support against the murder of the Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini by demonstrating outside Iranian embassies around the world. Those demonstrations stood against the tyranny that led the Islamic Republic of Iran and those who govern.
The world had shown the leadership of Iran that they stood with the murdered girl and not the theocratic government of the Islamic Republic nor the Raisi presidency. Females from around the globe showed their support against a country of those who desired to dominate and control one half of the human race, the female population. The Iranian government had shown no remorse for Amini but had the greatest respect for the police who shown no mercy when it came to unarmed and vulnerable demonstrators who strongly wanted a change in the law and if nothing else then to respect females and their human rights.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of Iran Iran’s Forensic Medicine claimed “today, it is obvious to everyone that the death of a girl was completely an excuse.”
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the Foreign Minister who died in the helicopter crash said, "who believes that the death of a girl is so important to Westerners?"
The callous use of words and phrases give an indication of the regime under Raisi. The quote from Ejei when he stated, “the death of a girl was completely an excuse.” He cannot even say her name. Then Abdollahian when he said, “who believes that the death of a girl is so important to Westerners?" Neither show any remorse about Amini.
Riot police when attempting to stop the demonstrations used not just live rounds but also pellet cartridges in shotguns. These weapons were pointed at teenagers and fired at point blank ranges. The aiming points were the eyes and the genitals in order to disfigure the youngsters and in the case of females an attempt to stop them having children.
The Norway-based non-profit organisation
The United Nations on the 18th March 2024 reported, that there are “credible figures” that indicate there were 551 deaths, at least 49 women and 68 children, “and we found that those occurred in 26 out of the 31 provinces of Iran over multiple months”, the Mission found.
Ms. Hossain explained that many protesters “removed their hijab in public places as an act of defiance against long-standing discriminatory laws and practices”.
Men and boys joined in the protests in solidarity too, the Council heard, along with minorities who demanded equality.
” What we found was that security forces shot at protesters and also at bystanders at very short distances in a targeted fashion, causing injuries to their heads, necks, torsos, genital areas, but particularly to the eyes,” reported Ms. Hossain. “We found hundreds of protesters had these life changing injuries, with many of them now blinded and branded essentially for life marked as dissidents.”
It appeared that the ideology of Ebrahim Raisi had carried on from 1988, “Revolution Before the People.”
The Iranian Population
Raisi was elected on numerous promises one of which was to bring down the high rate of inflation. This was affecting the purchase of staple dietary products which the average Iranian was finding it difficult to place any form of decent food on the table due to the rise in prices.
The population of Iran had had enough of the lies and corruption led by the previous presidency and were hoping of a better future which never happened.
The people had had enough of having 60% inflation which reflected on the price of food that they have to pay in order to put nourishment on the table which Raisi promised to tackle and never did. Lawyers who had been promised a wage increase by Raisi which had not been delivered by the very man who was once head of their profession. The farmers had had enough of having no water to grow crops because of corruption and the mismanagement of the precious liquid. Pensioners had had enough of being promised a rise in their pension and the government not delivering, Raisi. The teachers who educated or indoctrinated the next generation with deceptions from text books written by those responsible for propaganda that had been approved by the Raisi government. The population of Iran had had enough when they saw the privileged going to Turkey and buying products that the ordinary people could not dream of purchasing especially when the cost of bread and other basic commodities were so high. They had had enough of the lies that the state-controlled media and press broadcasted by hiding the truth.
A great deal of the unrest was placed upon the United States, The State of Israel and the United Kingdom who were accused of plotting to overthrow the government and were using Masha Amini and their reason for high inflation as a means of fermenting the discontent.
1st March 2024 Iranian Elections
On the 1st March 24 the Iranians had the chance of voting on two important bodies. The Parliamentary elections and the Assembly of Experts. Voting was to be run concurrently on the same day. The last time the Iranians went to the ballot box it was for a new president in 2021. However, like everything in a corrupt system the presidential vote was no different. Most of the candidates were thrown out with only a few others allowed to stand.
It was explained that whoever won the post would be the prime candidate for the position of Supreme Leader once the current leader died. The Supreme Leader is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran (above the president). At the moment the current Supreme Leader is Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei (born 15th July 1939) an Iranian Twelver Shia marja' and politician who has been the second Supreme Leader of Iran since 1979. He previously served as third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was elected to Supreme Leader 1989 being only the second to hold the position since the Iranian revolution in 1979.
The turnout for the 2024 elections were marginally lower than the 2021 elections. People do not see the reason for voting as everything for them remains the same with no change no matter who is in power.
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, had been tipped to succeed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who in April 2024 was 85 years old. Raisi would then become the third Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guardian Council
The Guardian Council (also known as the Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council) is a 12-member council with significant power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Guardian Council can veto legislation passed by the parliament (Majlis) to ensure bills align with Islamic laws and the Iranian Constitution. The council oversees elections, including approving or disqualifying candidates running for local, parliamentary, presidential, or Assembly of Experts positions.
The council consists of six Islamic faqihs (experts in Islamic Law) appointed by the Supreme Leader, and six jurists elected by the Majlis from among Muslim jurists nominated by the Chief Justice. Its influence extends to controlling the interpretation of Islamic values in Iranian law, vetting candidates, and shaping legislation
The Guardian Council plays a crucial role in selecting Iran’s president.
Election Monitoring Agency (EMA): Managed by the Guardian Council, this institution vets registered candidates and selects a handful to run in the presidential election.
Candidates must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a twelve-member body consisting of six clerics (selected by Iran’s Supreme Leader) and six lawyers (proposed by the Supreme Leader-appointed head of Iran’s judicial system and voted in by the Parliament).
Those approved by the Guardian Council are put to a public vote. The winner is the candidate who receives a majority (50% plus one) of votes. If no candidate receives enough votes, another election is held between the two candidates with the most votes the following Friday.
The President of Iran is elected every four years by direct, popular vote, but the Supreme Leader holds much more power in Iran’s political system
Iran Presidential Election Registration
Tasnim News on the 30th May 2024 announced that he registration process for the 14th round of Iran’s presidential elections got underway at the Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital Tehran. Registering the candidates started at 0800 hrs at the order of Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi.
Eligible applicants had the chance of submitting the required documents within a deadline of five days. The names of the hopefuls would then be handed over to the Constitutional Council, the 12-member body that oversees elections and legislation. The body would vet and pronounce a final ruling on the competency of the hopefuls according to constitutional requirements.
The Iranian population will be given the opportunity to go to the polls and elect a new president in a nationwide election to be held on the 28th June 2024.
The five-day registration period, began on the 30th May 2024, ended on the 3rd June 2024 with the final list of candidates to be published on 11th June 2024.
The results as to who would be eligible for the presidential office were to be announced on the 5th June 2024. The presidential candidates would be whittled down from this group so that the population will have little choice as to who they should choose after the 11th June announcement.
The possibility of yet another low turnout to vote is more than likely. Iranians cannot vote for who would be best placed as president for the good of the people and who would make a better life for them. This president may be elected to continue Ruhollah Khomenei’s Islamic Republic without opposition but that is not a forgone conclusion in this case. For those who support the corrupt dictatorship they will vote, for those who hate living under repression they will not see the point. After all, one dictator is the same as another.
The announcement of 15 candidates from the selection process was announced in the Tehran Times on the 5th June 2024. A number of them have some form of blemish’s including embezzlement and corruption charges or have attempted to become president in the past but were rejected by the Guardian Council. Some are believed to lack experience in operational fields
Presidential campaigns according to the Tehran Times, will begin on 12th June and will run until 27th June 2024, providing ample time for candidates to present their platforms to the electorate. This election represents a critical juncture for Iran, offering an opportunity to redefine its domestic and international policies and address complex challenges, such as economic sanctions and regional tensions.
Presidential elections will be held on the 28th June 2024.
Paul Ashley
Additional Information
[1] Iran International
Iran International is a Persian-language news television channel headquartered in London aimed at Iranian viewers, and broadcasting free-to-air by satellite. Iran International was established in May 2017 and has broadcast its programmes from both London and Washington, D.C. In February 2023, Iran International moved its headquarters temporarily to Washington, D.C. due to increased threats from the Iranian government against their UK-based journalists, but back to London in September 2023. It is available online, via radio and via satellite broadcasting worldwide including Iran. The channel has been charged of being an arm of Saudi Arabia and has received media attention for its reporting on Iranian human rights violations, political developments, LGBTQ+ rights and other topics sensitive to the regime in Iran.
The Penguin Dictionary of Islam (Azim Nanji with Razia Nanji) 2008, pages 51,52
[2] ‘Fatwa’ Legal opinion rendered by a Muslim scholar regarded to having appropriate status and training. Such opinion may be sought from scholars who are known as MUFTI in the Sunni tradition and as mujtahid among the Shia, but are not necessarily binding.
While the idea originated in the need to provide religiously credible and well-established responses to questions of practice of the faith and daily behaviour, the concept developed throughout Muslim history into a more formal, legal notion. The mufti acted in a consultative capacity in Muslim courts as well as interpreting Islamic law as an appointed official of the state. The practice of issuing a fatwa has continued in modern times as a mechanism for dealing with personal, social, legal and religious issues. Page 7
[3] Deadly Fatwa: Iran’s 1988 Prison Massacre
This report documents and analyses the Iranian government’s massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Pursuant to a fatwa issued by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, the government systematically interrogated, tortured and summarily executed thousands of political prisoners. Many families were never informed about the executions and many of the victims were buried in unmarked mass graves. The Iranian government has never identified those who were secretly executed and tortured, and has never issued an explanation for this crime.
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