Khamenei Appoints Raisi as Iran’s Judiciary Chief

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and newly appointed head of Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi, undated. March 7, 2019 (Khamenei website)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and newly appointed head of Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi, undated. March 7, 2019 (Khamenei website)
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Khamenei Appoints Raisi as Iran’s Judiciary Chief

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and newly appointed head of Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi, undated. March 7, 2019 (Khamenei website)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and newly appointed head of Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi, undated. March 7, 2019 (Khamenei website)

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed on Thursday former presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi as head of the Iranian judiciary, taking over from Sadegh Amoli Larijani, who became the chairman of the powerful Expediency Council last December.

Raisi had lost to President Hassan Rouhani in the 2017 presidential election.

"I am appointing you as the head of the judiciary, as a person who is familiar with the judiciary after years of serving inside the system," Khamenei said in a statement carried by IRNA news agency.

Hardline cleric Raisi is a protégé of Khamenei. His appointment is for five years, and could be renewed for a second term.

The new head of the judiciary is said to be one of the contestants for the post of Supreme Leader in post-Khamenei Iran.

He is known for his role in overseeing the execution of political prisoners in the late 1980s.

An audio file release in 2016 proved he was part of a four-person committee that ordered the execution of several thousand political prisoners in 1988.

Human Rights Watch said the appointment of a former judge responsible for mass executions to be head of Iran’s judiciary reflects the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

“It’s disturbing and frankly frightening that Ebrahim Raisi will be overseeing justice and accountability in Iran,” said Sarah Leah Whiteson, Middle East and North Africa director at HRW.

Khamanei said he appointed Raisi to bring about a transformation in the judiciary, in line with its needs, advancements and challenges on the 40th anniversary of the Revolution.



Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Ukraine and the United States are in the final stages of negotiating a minerals deal considered central to ending Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

Kyiv and Washington are both interested in US access to Ukraine's undersoil riches, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said any such deal must involve concrete security guarantees.

"Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement. The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized," deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on X.

"We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington (at) the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come."

Trump has said Ukraine should give the US $500 billion in critical raw materials as payback for aid which Kyiv has already received from the previous Joe Biden administration.

Zelenskiy said this week Washington had supplied his country with $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in direct budget support, and that he will not acknowledge Biden-supplied aid as loan.

Zelenskiy refused to sign an initial draft deal earlier this month, sparking frustration in the White House. Senior Trump administration officials said on Sunday they expected an agreement would be signed this week.