The Butcher of Tehran has passed away, but Raisi's legacy lives on as Iran names an acting president.

The U.S. government was familiar with the late President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, due to his history of massacring Iranian citizens.

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Raisi due to his involvement in the 1988 massacre of 5,000 Iranian political prisoners and the 2019 slaughter of 1,500 Iranian demonstrators by the clerical regime.

In the late 1980s, Raisi served as a judge who issued summary execution sentences to dissidents, and he boasted about his role in the mass murders, terming them as "one of the proud achievements" of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to Alireza Nader, a Washington, D.C., expert on Iran's regime, Raisi was one of the most evil men serving one of the most brutal regimes in existence today. The people of Iran will never forget his crimes. His death will present major challenges for the succession to Khamenei.

The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is the ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic and chose Raisi as his preferred candidate in the widely criticized "sham" election of 2021. In Iran, Western-style democratic elections do not exist.

The "Butcher of Tehran" moniker was earned by Raisi due to his violent suppression of Iranian protesters, including those involved in the 2022 "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, which sought justice for the regime's murder of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman.

Amini was arrested and tortured by the regime's morality police for not adhering to the strict dress code of covering her hair, which is mandatory in the Islamic nation.

Nader stated that Raisi was a mirror image of Khamenei, and the regime would replace him with another loyalist. Despite this, Raisi's death is a significant blow to the despised and vulnerable regime, according to Nader.

Raisi has been succeeded as president of Iran by Mohammad Mokhber until new elections are held as per the Islamic Republic of Iran's constitution. The election is scheduled to occur after 50 days of a caretaker government. The U.S. and European Union have imposed sanctions on Mokhber.

The U.S. Treasury department's 2021 sanction announcement against Mokhber revealed that he was responsible for the execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), which systematically violated the rights of dissidents by confiscating land and property from opponents of the regime, including political opponents, religious minorities, and exiled Iranians. Additionally, the European Union had previously sanctioned Mokhber, along with others, due to concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's nuclear weapons program, missile attack on Israel, and bloody purge of activists were defining features of Raisi's tenure.

According to Planet Chronicle Digital, Iran experts stated that President Biden's soft approach towards Raisi and Khamenei encouraged Iran's government to target Israel.

In March, Planet Chronicle Digital reported that Biden defied opponents of Iran's regime and waived sanctions on Iran's cash-starved economy. Despite the Biden administration's claim that the sanctions' relief cannot be used to finance Iran's growing military, nuclear and drone industries, Raisi fired back last year, stating that the money will be used "wherever we need it."

In January, an Iranian regime-sponsored proxy terrorist attack killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan, prompting criticism of Biden's decision to release up to $10 billion into the Islamic Republic's coffers.

The Biden administration maintained that Iran's government cannot utilize the funds for its expanding military arsenal. However, opponents contend that the $10 billion is flexible money, enabling Iran to adjust its budget to prioritize its military expansion.

According to John Kirby, the financial relief provided to Iran last month due to the sanctions relief program implemented by the Trump administration can only be used for humanitarian goods and not for the regime.

Kazem Moussavi, the German-Iranian dissident and spokesman for the Iran Green Party in exile, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that "Raisi was one of the main criminals in Iran's history." Mousavi urged German President Frank-Walter Steinmeir and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock not to express their condolences to Iran's regime regarding the death of Raisi and other Iranian officials in the crashed helicopter.

In 2019, Steinemeir sent a congratulatory letter to Iran's regime to commemorate the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Iranian government has been subject to criticism from the Biden administration for receiving billions of dollars in economic sanctions relief.

The former president is disliked by many Iranians in the diaspora and in the Islamic Republic, as per analysts.

The Islamic Republic of Iran's policies are determined by Khamenei, the country's anti-American leader, and the next president will continue the legacy of Raisi in pursuing the regime's ongoing jingoistic policies toward the West and Israel.

The U.S. government, under both Democratic and Republican leadership, has consistently labeled Iran's regime as the world's top state sponsor of international terrorism.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.