The appointment of a new supreme leader of Iran is hampered by Raisi’s passing.

Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, passed away unexpectedly, ushering in a new era of unrest at the same time that the increasingly unpopular Islamic Republic is choosing its next supreme leader. Mr. Raisi, sixty-three, was regarded as a front-runner, particularly with the influential Revolutionary Guards.

The administration was preoccupied with internal political and theological conflicts even before to the helicopter crash that claimed Mr. Raisi’s life. This was due to the deteriorating health of the supreme leader, 85-year-old Ali Khamenei, the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.