The Islamic Republic of Iran has a new President. He is Ebrahim Raisi (b. December 13, 1960). He was elected earlier this year (2021) and officially took office on August 3rd. He succeeds the former chief executive, Hassan Rouhani, who served from 2013 until this year. Raisi supposedly received 63% of the vote, though most observers believe the election was carefully rigged in his favor.
Raisi has held a number of political posts since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. He is most notably infamous for serving in 1988 on a special four-man judicial committee selected by then Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900 – 1989). That committee, with Khomeini’s blessing, was responsible for the mass executions of thousands of political and religious prisoners. As a result of those liquidations, Khomeini, Raisi and the committee were charged by the United States and United Nations with crimes against humanity. They have never been brought to justice. Khomeini died in 1989 and was followed as Supreme Leader by Ali Khamenei (b. 1939), Khomeini’s handpicked successor. Khamenei remains in power today.
It is important to understand that in the “Islamic Republic” of Iran the highest political authority rests, not with the President, the Parliament (the Majlis), or any other branch of government. Rather, the real power is in the hands of the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council who are the highest religious authorities of Shiite Islam. No important policy of the government can be enacted without the direct approval of the Ayatollah and the Guardian Council.
Above all, it is imperative that we understand the bizarre religious ideology that undergirds the leadership of Iran. Raisi, Khamenei, and the Guardian Council are all dedicated followers of an extreme version of Islam called “Twelver Shiite Islam.” That fanatical branch of Islam and its adherents, who are mainly focused in Iran, seriously believe that we are in the end times. They are convinced that the world is on the cusp of a calamitous world war that will end with the revelation of a messiah-like figure known as the “Twelfth Imam.”
According to Twelver Shiite theology, the last in a line of twelve ruling descendants of Muhammad, a man named Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (AD 868-?), inexplicably disappeared sometime in the late 9th century. Twelvers believe he is actually still alive and in hiding awaiting to return and lead the total destruction of the enemies of Islam. The frightening aspect of this doctrine is that the rulers of Iran, including the Supreme Leader, the Guardian Council, and the new President, probably believe it is their divine duty to instigate the final conflagration so that the prophecy of the Twelfth Imam can come to pass in this generation. That is one reason (among many others) the world must never allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. Who knows what the demented minds in control of that nation would do with them?
For a full explanation of the doctrine of the Twelvers and its impact on Iran go to these articles: The Atomic Bomb and the Religious Fanatics of Iran and Who Are the Fanatics Ruling Iran?