Ebrahim Raisi death: VP Mokhber to serve as Iran’s interim president, nuclear negotiator Bagheri as acting FM

Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi, along with the nation's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, perished in an helicopter crash on Sunday (May 19). After the tragic crash, the country announced interim leaders who would take over the duties of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian.

Khameini announces Iran's interim president

On Monday (May 20), Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will take over as the interim president of Iran.

Khamenei made this announcement while declaring that the nation will observe a five-day mourning period.

As per a statement broadcast by Iran's official news agency IRNA, he said: "I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran."

"... Mokhber will manage the executive branch and is obliged to arrange with the heads of the legislative and judicial branches to elect a new president within a maximum of 50 days," he added.

Who is Mohammad Mokhber?

Mokhber, as per Reuters, like the deceased Raisi, is also seen as a close ally of the supreme leader Khamenei.

He first became Iran's vice president, when Raisi was electedpresident in 2021.

He has previously served as the head of Setad (Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam, or the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam), an investment fund linked to the supreme leader.

In 2010, the European Union included Mokhber on a list of individuals and entities it was sanctioning for alleged involvement in "nuclear or ballistic missile activities". Two years later, it removed him from the list, reports Reuters.

Interim Iran foreign minister

In an announcement on state television, government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi revealed that Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri has been appointed as acting foreign minister.

Ali Bagheri has previously served as deputy foreign minister under Amir-Abdollahian.

When will Iran elect its next president?

As per the constitution of Iran, the nation currently observing a five-day mourning has a maximum of 50 days before a presidential election must be held to choose Raisi's successor.

Article 131 of Iran's constitution states that a council consisting of the first vice president, the speaker of parliament, and the head of the judiciary must prepare the way for the election of a new president.

(With inputs from agencies)