Inside Job?

Crossing the blood-brain barrier.

---

1. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash yesterday, according to state-run Press TV, depriving Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of a longtime ally as Tehran angles for regional dominance through armed militias that are fighting the U.S. and Israel. Raisi’s death was announced early Monday, after state TV reported Sunday afternoon that a helicopter carrying him and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had made a “difficult landing” in northwestern Iran. (Source: wsj.com)

---

2. Much is still unclear, starting with why Mr Raisi’s helicopter crashed. The official story so far is bad weather. It was rainy and foggy during the flight, with visibility said to be of just a few metres. Conditions were bad enough that rescue workers could not fly in to look for the president, and even drones could not find the crash site; the Red Crescent resorted to sending search teams on foot. Mother Nature could well be the culprit. Nothing is ever as it seems in Iranian politics, though, and many Iranians have begun to speculate about more nefarious explanations. Mr Raisi has a long list of internal enemies, from the relative moderates he has marginalised to the fellow conservatives who think he has been an inept president. It is not unreasonable to wonder if domestic foes conspired to kill him. (Source: economist.com)

---

3. Institute for the Study of War:

Raisi’s death (will) have serious implications for supreme leader succession. Raisi (was) considered one of the top contenders—along with Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei—to succeed Khamenei as supreme leader. Khamenei appointed Raisi to the position of judiciary chief in 2019 and endorsed Raisi during the August 2021 presidential elections.[10] The next several days have the potential to reshape the immediate and long-term dynamics of the regime, including supreme leader succession. Raisi’s death (will) ultimately not change the regime’s current trajectory toward more hardline and conservative domestic policies and more aggressive regional policies, however. (Source: understandingwar.org)

---