What the death of Iran's president means for Middle East tensions

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed in a helicopter crash, according to state media. As the country has lost two of its most influential political leaders, Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka joins Catalysts to discuss how Iran will move forward.
"Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian essentially didn't decide Iranian policies both at home and abroad. They were implementers of the wishes of the two main centers of power in Iran; that's the office of the Supreme Leader and then the generals in the Revolutionary Guards," Vatanka explains. Because those two centers of power are still functioning. he expects "continuity going forward."
He adds, "The one thing I will be watching out for as an Iran watcher is if this was foul play or if Raisi's departure suddenly results in intense competition for power among the hardliners and that they go to a point where they can't control the infighting anymore." "We know that infighting is going on behind the scenes, but if it spills out into the public domain, that would take us to a whole new stage in the evolution of this Iranian regime," he warns.
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