Scramble For Supreme Leader With Raisi Death, Will Iran Change Internal, Nuclear And Foreign Policy?

President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash has come at a time when Iran is facing unprecedented external and internal challenges. The death of Raisi, the second most important man in Iran, after supreme leader Ali Khamenei, is expected to have far-reaching consequences. One of the big questions raised by Raisi’s death is how his absence is likely to affect the battle over who succeeds the current supreme leader. meanwhile, the loss of foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in the helicopter crash has dealt a blow to Iran’s foreign policy. Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri has been appointed as Iran’s acting foreign minister amid the rapidly changing equation in the Middle East. However, experts say Iran’s hardliners may regard Bagheri as too willing to negotiate with the west over Iran’s nuclear programme.