ANALYSIS – What's next? The deadly helicopter crash Sunday in remote mountains that took the lives of Iran's “president,” foreign minister and five or six other persons, including three other regime figures, two pilots and security officers, could bring about a death spiral for the terror state.
The crash in the northern region of Iran comes amid growing dissent within Iran over a number of political and social crises.
Note I use “president” in quotation marks because Iran doesn't have true democratic elections.
The foreign minister killed was Hossein Amirabdollahian, while Ebrahim Raisi was the hardline nominal leader of Iran who, among many dastardly acts of terror against the U.S. and Israel, also oversaw the brutal repression of Iranians during recent massive protests.
Raisi, who became president in 2021, was widely seen as a vassal for the regime and a yes man to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (RELATED: UN Security Council Holds Moment Of Silence For Deceased Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi)
In 2022, he ordered tighter enforcement of Iran's “hijab and chastity law” restricting women's dress and behavior.
It was under these orders that 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was detained in September 2022 by Iran's “morality police” for wearing an “improper” hijab. She died three days later from injuries sustained while in custody, sparking mass unrest. (RELATED: Iranian University Offering Scholarships To Expelled Anti-Israel Protestors)
The months of nationwide protests that followed presented one of the deadliest challenges to the Iran terror regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Hundreds of innocent people were killed, in addition to dozens of security personnel who were part of a brutal crackdown on demonstrators.
And now, while the Iranian government enforces an official mourning period on its citizens, unofficially many are celebrating Raisi's death. Not only that, but the regime's democratic opponents are predicting a severe crisis that could result in an uprising, or civil war.
The Daily Mail reports:
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), described the crash in Iran's northwest that killed Raisi, his foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and seven others as an ‘irreparable blow' to the country's mullahs.
‘This represents a monumental and irreparable strategic blow to the mullahs' Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the entire regime, notorious for its executions and massacres,' Rajavi said.
‘It will trigger a series of repercussions and crises within theocratic tyranny, which will spur rebellious youths into action… The curse of mothers and those seeking justice for the executed, along with the damnation of the Iranian people and history, mark the legacy of Ebrahim Raisi, the notorious perpetrator of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.'
The outlet adds: “Rajavi's declaration that the death of Raisi could motivate those harbouring anti-regime sentiments to rebel against the mullahs comes as Israeli officials sought to dispel theories Tel Aviv could have been behind the crash that killed Raisi.”
The regime has since said a technical failure in the 50-year-old American made helicopter and bad weather caused the crash.
The U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter carrying Raisi, a heavily modified “Huey” of Vietnam fame, is notoriously unsafe due to disrepair and a lack of spare parts caused by Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is expected to become interim “president.”
As interim president, Mokhber is part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organize a new presidential election within 50 days of the president's death, now reportedly set for June 28.
Mokhber, like Raisi, is seen as close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the last say in all matters of state. Mokhber became first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.
Candidates for the June 28 election can register from May 30 onwards and individuals will be vetted by the theocratic “Guardian Council,” a 12-member body of male clerics and “jurists” that administers elections. (RELATED: Biden Warns Netanyahu After Helping Israel Thwart Iran Assault)
While Iran's president has significant influence over domestic policy and foreign affairs, his powers are limited by the constitution, which subordinates his role to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Still, all this unwanted turmoil comes at a critical and volatile time, as Iran leads its proxies in a regional conflict against Israel, has attacked Israel directly and is rushing to build a nuclear bomb.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
