Ali Khamenei Appoints First VP Mohammad Mokhber Acting President Of Iran After Ebrahim Raisi's Death

Mohammad Mokhber has taken over Iran's reins as the country's acting President following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a chopper crash.

File photo of Mohammad Mokhber.

Source : Getty Images

Iran's supreme leader 'Ayotollah' Ali Khamenei has appointed first Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber as the nation's acting President. The appointment comes after Ebrahim Raisi's death in a chopper crash on Sunday. The interim President, Mohammad Mokhber, will ensure a smooth transition of governance and administration in Iran till the new President is elected.

Who Is Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's Acting President?

• The 68-year-old Mohammad Mokhber was born on September 1, 1955. He became the first Vice-President of Iran in 2021 when Ebrahim Raisi won the Presidential elections.
  
  
• Mokhber Mohammad was sanctioned by the European Union in 2010 for being involved in what the body saw as "nuclear or ballistic missile activities".
  
  
• The US Treasury Department in 2013 sanctioned Setad, an Ali Khamenei-linked investment fund headed by Mokhber.
  
  
• Mokhber was also part of a team of Iranian diplomats that went to Russia in October last year and brokered the deal to supply missiles and drones to the Kremlin.
  
  
• Mokhber, now the acting President, will now be part of the three-member council that is required to conduct the Presidential polls. The council, which also seats the speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and the head of the judiciary, will have to organise the Presidential polls within 50 days.

Ebrahim Raisi Dies In Chopper Crash

Iran on Monday confirmed that President Ebrahim Raisi died in a chopper crash on Sunday. The search for the chopper, which suddenly lost contact, went on for hours with the Red Crescent launching drones with thermal imaging capabilities to look for the missing aircraft.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expressed grief at the President's passing.

تلقّيتُ ببالغ الحُزن والأسى الخبر المرير للرحيل المماثل للشهادة، لرئيس الجمهوريّة الكفوء والدؤوب، خادم الرّضا (عليه السّلام)، سماحة حجّة الإسلام والمسلمين، الحاج السيّد إبراهيم رئيسي ورفاقه الأجلّاء. pic.twitter.com/YlGrz07VeW

— الإمام الخامنئي (@ar_khamenei) May 20, 2024