Ebrahim Raisi Appointed as Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi

Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, appointed Ebrahim Raisi as the custodian of Astan Quds Razavi through a decree. The appointment was published on Monday, March 8, and Khamenei urged him not to neglect 'organizing the economic and service enterprises of Astan Quds Razavi.' The decree also emphasized 'legal discipline' for the entities under Astan Quds Razavi's supervision. Astan Quds Razavi has been exempt from paying taxes since the beginning of the revolution, and there is no report on the financial turnover of this institution. Ebrahim Raisi, who also entered the fifth Assembly of Experts elections from the South Khorasan constituency, has now taken on the responsibility of the largest endowment organization in Iran. Raisi succeeds Abbas Vaez Tabasi, the former custodian of Astan Quds Razavi, who passed away last week, with his funeral held in Mashhad attended by Ali Khamenei. Vaez Tabasi had held the position since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution and remained in office until his death despite some disagreements with Khamenei. Ebrahim Raisi is also regarded as one of Khamenei's trusted clerics, having been appointed as the special prosecutor for the clergy in 2012. Raisi is considered a conservative cleric with a long history in the judiciary. He was one of the members of the four-person committee involved in the mass executions of political prisoners in the summer and fall of 1988, during which thousands of prisoners were killed. The other members of this committee were Morteza Eshraqi, Hossein Ali Niri, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi. Raisi served as the prosecutor of Tehran from 1989 to 1994. He was then appointed to head the General Inspection Organization of the country from 1994 to 2004. From 2004 to 2014, he was the first deputy of the judiciary. In 2014, Raisi was appointed as the Attorney General of the country by Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, and he still holds this position. Other judicial responsibilities of Raisi since 1980 include the head of the Tehran Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office, the head of the General Inspection Organization, and the head of the prosecutor's office in Hamadan province. Ebrahim Raisi is also mentioned as the son-in-law of Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad.