What lies ahead for Iran after President Raisi's death?
Russian expert analyses
INTERVIEWS 22 May 2024 - 14:41
Matanat Nasibova Caliber.Az |
The Iranian government has decided to hold the 14th presidential election in the country on June 28. According to the IRNA news agency, the relevant information was disseminated by the Constitutional Council and the Ministry of Interior of Iran. It is also known that presidential candidates will be able to register from May 30 to June 3, and the election campaign will last from June 12 to the morning of June 27. According to Iran's constitution, the republic must hold elections for a new president within 50 days. Until then, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will fulfil his duties.
On May 19, a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other high-ranking officials crashed. The Iranian delegation was returning from the Iran-Azerbaijan border zone and was on its way to the city of Tabriz.
Caliber.Az talked to Vladimir Sazhin, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, for insights into the unfolding events.
"I would first point out the untenability of conspiracy theories related to any terrorist attack. Everything points to the fact that the cause of the crash of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president was bad weather conditions and terrain features. Firstly.
Secondly, because of American sanctions, Iran's entire aircraft fleet - both aeroplanes and helicopters - is experiencing an acute shortage of original spare parts. Considering that the Iranians manufacture them themselves, it is quite likely that various deviations could have occurred. I think that such a helicopter in such weather conditions could hardly cope with the delivery of VIPs.
Thirdly, as it seems to me, it made no sense for Iran's foreign policy opponents to carry out such a complicated operation to eliminate Raisi, if only because it would have had no effect on the country's political course," Vladimir Sazhin explained.
Answering the question about who can occupy the presidential seat in Iran, the Russian expert suggested that the struggle for power in Iran may unfold between all real candidates for this post.
As for the probability of destabilisation of the situation in Iran, the expert says that the death of the Iranian president is unlikely to lead to serious political changes or provoke unrest in the country.
The fact is that in Iran, power is fully vested in the spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and in fact Raisi was the second person in the Islamic Republic. However, in recent years all branches of power in Iran - executive, judicial and legislative - have been overseen by the radical conservative wing of the Iranian political establishment, to which Raisi himself belonged. This group is somewhat heterogeneous and consists of factions vying for leverage. Rather, the death of Iran's president may slightly destabilise the situation in the upper echelons of power, and I would rule out any revolutionary transformations in the power system.
As for the internal political situation in Iran, I exclude a confrontation between conservatives and liberals, as the latter are removed from the political field and I would even say knocked out. So Raisi's death will not provoke large-scale protests in Iran, also because street unrest is usually fuelled by the destructive actions of the vice police. The recent major protests over the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest for "improperly wearing hijab" showed this. Another thing is that a heavy economic factor can provoke mass unrest, which, incidentally, also took place during the years of Raisi's presidency. Let me remind you that the exchange rate of the real against the dollar fell almost threefold and inflation approached 50 per cent," Vladimir Sazhin pointed out.
According to Russian analysts, the death of the Iranian president will not affect, among other things, the future foreign policy course of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"I believe that IRI's policy towards Türkiye and the South Caucasus countries, particularly Azerbaijan, will remain unchanged," Sazhin concluded.
Caliber.Az
1
|
Armenian special forces' bold move Confiscation sparks political backlash
24 June 2024 - 17:07
|
2
|
Armenia’s military build-up & western alignments risk renewed conflict Baku warns Yerevan
23 June 2024 - 11:39
|
3
|
Steering through tangled web of conflict & peace between Azerbaijan & Armenia High time to do away with a vicious circle
23 June 2024 - 09:17
|
4
|
Armenia's truce violations amid rising tensions & strategic weapons deals with France Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it
23 June 2024 - 15:31
|
5
|
Why does Russia want to recognize the Taliban government? Graveyard of empires
25 June 2024 - 12:36
|
Azerbaijani people proud of army
Caliber.Az describes combat path of Azerbaijani Armed Forces26 June 2024 - 12:43
Security chief: Armenia's future relations with Russia hinge on Moscow's position
26 June 2024 - 12:31
Presidential aide: Diplomacy without military strength akin to music without instruments
26 June 2024 - 12:17
President Aliyev receives Italian-made military transport aircraft C-27J Spartan
26 June 2024 - 12:04
Turkish authorities disrupt international drug cartel in Spain
26 June 2024 - 11:52
Azerbaijan's Air Force: Guardians of the nation's skies
PHOTO26 June 2024 - 11:40
Julian Assange pleads guilty for leaking America's national secrets
Banned from returning to US without permission26 June 2024 - 11:28
Armenia receives tenth package of proposals from Azerbaijan
26 June 2024 - 11:16
Israel accuses UN of keeping food at warehouses in Gaza
26 June 2024 - 11:04
German Bundeswehr set to secure massive munitions production contract
26 June 2024 - 10:53
Pentagon ex-advisor warns US of losing NATO ally
26 June 2024 - 10:40
Russian FM: BRICS to suspend admitting new members
26 June 2024 - 10:27
Former Swiss president elected Council of Europe chief
26 June 2024 - 10:15
Russia, Ukraine each return 90 prisoners of war
26 June 2024 - 10:02
Azerbaijan gains victory over Armenia in anti-terrorist operation rapidly, minister says
26 June 2024 - 09:50
SOCAR, Germany's VNG ink MoU for natural gas & renewable energy co-op
26 June 2024 - 09:38
Azerbaijan celebrates 106th anniversary of Armed Forces
26 June 2024 - 09:22
Azerbaijan confirms identities of 20 missing Individuals from First Karabakh War
26 June 2024 - 09:10
Climate crisis threatens West Africa's coastal cities
26 June 2024 - 09:03
Global green-energy transition faces critical challenges
26 June 2024 - 08:17
When will China have a sixth-gen fighter jet?
26 June 2024 - 06:13
China stands to gain significantly from Ukraine war
26 June 2024 - 04:10
Western economies urged to adapt to Chinese innovation in EV sector
26 June 2024 - 02:07
Macron's rightward shift backfires, bolstering far-right National Rally
26 June 2024 - 00:05
Iran’s new nuclear threat
Weaponizing threshold status25 June 2024 - 22:03
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry congrats Slovenia on National Day
25 June 2024 - 21:14
Iranian presidential candidates discuss foreign policy in penultimate TV debate
25 June 2024 - 20:59
Baku hosts 11th consular consultations between Azerbaijani & Russian Foreign Ministries
25 June 2024 - 20:42
Iran reaffirms commitment to JCPOA, slams US & E3/EU non-compliance
25 June 2024 - 20:39
Azerbaijani foreign minister meets Russian envoy to discuss peace process with Armenia
25 June 2024 - 20:30
Federal cabinet approves national counter-terrorism plan amid opposition concerns
25 June 2024 - 20:22
Albanian parliamentary commission holds hearing for ambassador candidate to Azerbaijan
25 June 2024 - 20:08
Top official: Russia, Azerbaijan forge robust partnership
25 June 2024 - 19:30
ANAMA, EU delegation hold conference on combating mine threat
PHOTO25 June 2024 - 19:18
SOCAR, Equinor explore future collaboration
25 June 2024 - 19:06
Azerbaijan, IEA working on new nenewable energy, efficiency commitments
25 June 2024 - 18:54
Erdogan condemns Dagestan attacks in call with Putin
25 June 2024 - 18:42
Turkish, Armenian foreign ministers hold telephone conversation
25 June 2024 - 18:39
Israel’s top court rules ultra-Orthodox Jews must be drafted into military
25 June 2024 - 18:30
Estonian prime minister to become Europe's top diplomat
25 June 2024 - 18:16