What is the mission of Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s new president?
Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi has suggested his new cabinet to the parliament. His government consists of mass killers, terrorists, bomb plotters, and looters. The new interior minister is Ahmad Vahidi, founder of the terrorist IRGC Quds Force, that has been implicated in numerous terrorist operations by the mullahs outside Iran and is wanted by Interpol since 2007 for the bombing of AMIA center in Buenos Aires, in 1994, where 85 people perished.
Those who might not know this man, certainly know his successor in the hated IRGC Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US army drone attack in Baghdad in 2020.
Ebrahim Raisi himself was in 1988 a member of the death commission in Tehran that sent thousands of political prisoners to the gallows. Those who refused to take distance from their support for the Iranian opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) were executed “unquestionably” and “without hesitation” per the instructions in Khomeini’s fatwa.
Many should think, how does Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei gain by appointing a mass murderer as president? Why did Khamenei ban all of Raisi’s rivals to take part in the election? How much chance does Iran have for a new deal with the United States of President Joe Biden?
To find answers to many similar questions, we must understand the ‘phenomenon’ of Raisi.
First, we should analyze the current situation of Iran’s society which sees the November 2019 nationwide protests and killings of 1500 innocent protesters as a turning point. In less than 48 hours, angry protesters in 200 Iranian cities chanted anti-regime slogans and many banks and looting centers were set on fire. The regime really feared being overthrown.
Despite the bloody crackdown, the continuation of protests in Iran showed the outrage of the society toward regime leaders, and the recent demonstrations in Khuzestan against water shortages that triggered protests in other cities such as Tehran are proof of this fact. The regime failed to control the radicalization and every protest in Iran turns quickly political.
Now, dealing with various domestic crises such as high inflation and prices, a broken economy, public dissent, and a high number of Covid-19 casualties, the regime has selected someone as Raisi, a known figure for his role in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners as president. For that, Khamenei even banned Ali Larijani who is a member of the regime’s inner circle and top negotiator of the Iran-China deal to take part in the elections. But why?
First, we analyze, what Raisi is not.
1. Raisi has not become Iran’s new president to improve the situation nor to gain more support for the regime. He is not there to make any change for the people and is not such a figure. Raisi and his cabinet members are the most loyal persons to Khamenei.
2. Raisi’s presidency doesn’t mean less suppression. We will witness more intensified suppressive measures. But this is not his main mission or his unique role.
So, what is Ebrahim Raisi?
Raisi’s mission is to defend Khamenei’s hegemony because the people are revolting against the regime. Khamenei needs someone who will not add to his problems but only follow orders.
A historic example is before the fall of the Shah. On September 8, 1978, the Shah slaughtered many protesters. Following this crackdown, the Shah brought a technocrat government with Jafar Sharif Emami to quell protests. But this led to further escalation of protests and the Shah was forced to bring a military government with General Gholamreza Azhari.
With this move, the Shah needed a solid military government since its regime was falling apart and politicians were no longer a solution to the crisis.
Today Khamenei also needed someone at top of the regime who is loyal to him in critical situations. Someone who will not question his decisions and will not lead the regime into a conflict at the top. To gain this position, Raisi has a full record of murder, execution, and slaughtering dissidents. This is how he made his carrier since the age of 19. He has killed so many people that he cannot enter into a conflict with Khamenei, who is his only safeguard. Raisi’s presidency is the flip side of the coin of the regime’s urgent situation. This is the reason Khamenei paid a high price to appoint him as president.
If we don’t get this logic, we won’t be able to understand Khamenei’s move. Iran’s society is in an explosive state. Protests will continue, day by day or from time to time. But the question that remains is how long the regime’s suppressive apparatus will last?