Iran's Attorney General Does Not Dismiss Possible Appointment of Raisi as Head of Judiciary

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of Iran, reacted on Saturday to rumors about the appointment of Ebrahim Raisi as the head of the judiciary, stating, "For now, it's just social media, and it will take time to become a reality." Last week, news circulated on social media about the finalization of Ebrahim Raisi's presidency as the next head of the judiciary. Among those reporting this was journalist Farid Modarresi on Twitter. Following the news, several other conservative journalists described it as a rumor and a fabrication by the news team close to Larijani. Young Journalists Club, affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, reported by republishing one of Raisi's official Instagram posts, evaluating its content as a denial of the news regarding his appointment as head of the judiciary. The five-year term of Sadegh Larijani as head of the judiciary will end next August, and it is unclear whether the Supreme Leader of Iran will issue this decree for Larijani for a third time. The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran for a five-year term, with no restrictions on the reissuance of this decree; however, no individual has held this position for more than two five-year terms. Ebrahim Raisi currently holds the position of custodian of the Astan Quds Razavi in Mashhad and is also a member of the Assembly of Experts and the Expediency Discernment Council. He was the final conservative candidate in the twelfth presidential elections, finishing second with less than 16 million votes, ultimately losing to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran. During that election campaign, his meeting with underground singer Amir Tataloo attracted controversy. Regarding the 1988 massacre, Raisi has been active in the Iranian judiciary for over three decades and is cited as one of the key figures in the largest massacre of opponents of the Islamic Republic in the summer of 1988. At the time of those executions, he was the deputy prosecutor and played a role in a committee composed of Hossein Ali Nouri, Morteza Eshraqi, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who were appointed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which later became known as the "Death Committee." The release of an audio file from a meeting and conversation between Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the then-deputy leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his objections and warnings to the members of this committee in 2016 and subsequently during the twelfth election campaign sparked significant reactions.