Once seen as a likely successor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, President Ebrahim Raisi has died in office, leaving the Islamic Republic’s hardline establishment facing an uncertain future.

An ultraconservative president, 63-year-old Raisi was killed Sunday, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other high-ranking officials, in a helicopter crash in Iran’s remote northwest. Their death comes at a delicate time for a country that faces unprecedented challenges at home and from abroad.

The Islamic Republic’s economy remains crippled by American sanctions, its young population is becoming growingly restive, and the country faces increasingly belligerent adversaries in the Middle East and beyond

The annual number of deaths from road accidents in Iran is nearly equivalent to the total deaths from traffic accidents in the 27 countries of the European Union, according to a report by Farhikhtegan newspaper on March 12.

The trend in road fatalities in Iran over the past three years has seen an increase attributed to factors such as lower vehicle quality, increased traffic volume, and human errors.

Between 2005 and 2022, a total of 351,996 people lost their lives due to traffic accidents in Iran.

The report emphasized the significant role played by Iranian-made cars, including the Pride and the Iranian version of Peugeot, which accounted for 51 percent of the fatalities in traffic accidents.

In the span of ten months in 2023, the number of deaths from accidents reached 17,177, marking a five percent increase compared to the previous year.

Further analysis revealed that dangerous road conditions contributed to nearly 20 percent of traffic accidents, while human error accounted for 29 percent.

On average, approximately 17,000 individuals succumb to traffic accidents annually in Iran, with roughly 3,000 of them being under the age of eighteen.

Meanwhile, 19,917 were killed in road accidents across the EU in 2021, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.