Mohammad Mokhber becomes acting president of Iran
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Iran’s first vice president and deputy since 2021, Mohammad Mokhber, has stepped into the role of acting president, following the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
The context: The 68-year-old Mokhber will lead a three-person council that is tasked with organising a new presidential election within the next 50 days, in keeping with the country’s constitution. He will have “the powers and the functions of the president” during this time.
It is possible that Mokhber, considered to be a key confidante of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will include himself on the election ballot.
Mokhber has begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments as the caretaker president. On Monday morning Iran’s cabinet held an emergency meeting, telling state media that it would follow Raisi’s path and that “with the help of God and the people, there will be no problem with management of the country.”
As Raisi was considered to be a leading contender as the next likely Supreme Leader (Iran's most high-ranking ruler), his death is also expected to raise questions around who the successor will now be. Khamenei’s son Motjaba is looking like a possible contender.
The Supreme Leader must be a high-ranking Islamic cleric, which puts Mokhber, a former military officer and head of the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order endowment fund, out of the running.
The sources: Bloomberg, Associated Press
