Considered a hardliner in Iranian politics, Raisi’s presidency has seen deadlock in negotiations with the U.S. over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and large-scale protests throughout the country in late 2022, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini on 16 September. Ebrahim Raisi was born on 14 December 1960 to a clerical family in the Noghan district of Mashhad. His father, Seyed Haji, died when he was 5. Ancestrally, Raisi is among Husayn ibn Ali (Hussaini) Sayyids, and he is connected to Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin Sayyids.