The death of the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter crash on Sunday night immediately set off speculation about the succession of the next supreme leader. Raisi was widely considered to be a leading candidate to replace Ali Khamenei, who is in his mid-80s and reportedly in poor health. His departure from the pool of possible candidates has raised the question of whether this could be an opportunity for the Iranian regime to widen political participation in the country by reinstating moderates and reformist figures into some state functions.
But this is unlikely. Over the past few years, the inner circle of the regime in Iran has been shrinking and will continue to do so. Raisi’s death pushes Iran even further in this direction.
