President Raisi was expected to succeed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. He was once sanctioned by the US for the mass execution of political prisoners in the 1980s.
ADVERTISEMENTAnalysts are watching the oil markets to see how they react to further uncertainty in the Middle East following the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
President Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in the crash which happened in northern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Sunday as the three-aircraft convoy was returning from Azerbaijan.
In early Monday trading, Brent crude edged up to $84.2 per barrel while crude oil also rose, to $80.1 per barrel, having seen a of 1.34% this week.
Gold prices were also up, increasing 1.11% to $2,440.6 per troy ounce, as investors returned to their “safe haven” favourite.
How could Raisi’s death impacted oil markets?
Iran is a major producer of oil and there are fears that any conflict involving Iran could further threaten and destabilise the wider Middle Eastern region. Iran is considered to be supporting the Houthis from Yemen who are currently blocking international trade through its attacks on shipping vessels travelling through the Red Sea.
The death of the late president is concerning financial markets, and commodities in particular, because of Iran’s position in the global economy which has been further destabilised through its drone attack on Israel last month.
At the time of the 13 April attack, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told Sky News: “We should be looking lucidly at the phenomena called Tehran and Israel.
“We are peace seekers. We went to peace with our neighbours time and time again. Unfortunately, it all started on 7 October, when a proxy of Iran, Hamas, led an unbelievably brutal massacre against Israeli citizens and the rest is history. We know it. So we should put it in perspective.
“This is like a real war. I mean, this is a declaration of war.”
President Raisi, an ultra-conservative hardliner known as the “Butcher of Tehran”, was expected to succeed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successor, and had been in power during some of Iran’s key historical and political moments.