The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash has dealt a shock blow to the Islamic regime and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It was not that Raisi was a standout president pursuing radical policies that would reshape the republic’s future. Indeed, history will no doubt judge that his brief term had less impact than those of predecessors such as Mohammad Khatami, who pursued a more reformist agenda, or Hassan Rouhani, the centrist who was a key architect and advocate of the 2015 nuclear deal that Tehran signed with world powers.

But from the moment Raisi was elected president in 2021, succeeding Rouhani, he was considered integral to Khamenei’s plans to cement the influence of regime hardliners and ensure a smooth succession to the republic’s top post when the 85-year-old supreme leader eventually dies. It is the theme that has dominated Iranian politics during the past decade, and will continue to do so.