A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed this afternoon (Sunday) over Azerbaijan. A few hours after the incident, both were reported to have lost contact, and it is still unclear what happened to them. Roy Kahanovich, a researcher and lecturer on Iranian affairs at the University of Haifa, explains in an interview with the Israeli newspaper "Ma'ariv" the reasons why Raisi earned the title "The Executioner of Tehran," and how the death of the Foreign Minister would be a shock for Israel.

Raisi has been the President of Iran since 2021 and played an active role in all matters related to the Iranian revolution in the 1970s. In light of the civil and economic crises that have plagued Iran in recent years, he has become a prominent president whose nickname is "The Executioner of Tehran," as he played a very active role in transforming Iran into an Islamic Republic and was responsible for the execution of anyone opposing the regime and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Kahanovich is surprised and clarifies that the death of the Iranian Foreign Minister could be more dramatic than the death of the president. He said, "On an international level, his death would be more significant for Israel. During the war, Abdollahian traveled around the world trying to mediate and present the Iranian side at the United Nations and before other countries."

The Israeli researcher added, "He was going to neighboring countries like Syria and Turkey as well as Russia, and he was very active in all matters related to Iranian diplomacy worldwide."

So far, "there has been no official announcement of death—but there is little chance of finding them alive when there is stormy weather and rain in Eastern Azerbaijan."

What about the day after? Kahanovich expects that "time will tell whether a replacement president will be chosen, whether elections will be held, and whether we will witness a unilateral move from Supreme Leader Khamenei to appoint other senior officials to their positions. It is likely that there will be temporary appointments, and then new elections will be held in Iran."