Middle-East

Iran's Supreme Leader approves Mokhber as interim president, declares 5 days of mourning

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/West Asia News Agency)

By Reuters | Monday, May 20, 2024

Iran now has a maximum period of 50 days before a presidential election must be held to choose Raisi's successor.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced five days of public mourning for President Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash and confirmed First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as interim head of the country's executive branch.

Iran now has a maximum period of 50 days before a presidential election must be held to choose Raisi's successor.

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"I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran," Khamenei said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

"... 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 said.

According to Article 131 of Iran's constitution, 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.

Mokhber, like Raisi, is seen as close to Khamenei, who has the last say in all matters of state. Mokhber became first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.

Iran's first vice president Mohammad Mokhber. (Photo: Tehran Times)

He became first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.

Mokhber was part of a team of Iranian officials who visited Moscow in October and agreed to supply surface-to-surface missiles and more drones to Russia's military, sources told Reuters at the time. The team also included two senior officials from Iran's Revolutionary Guards and an official from the Supreme National Security Council.

Mokhber had previously been head of Setad, an investment fund linked to the supreme leader.

Iran's three branches of government held an extraordinary meeting on Monday, with First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber representing the executive branch following the death of Raisi.

"We will follow the path of President Raisi in fulfilling assigned duties without any interruption," Mokhber said.

The three branches to which state TV referred are the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

If a president dies in office, the Islamic Republic's constitution says that the first vice president takes over for an interim period of 50 days, with the approval of the Supreme Leader, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran.