Media reports say Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed the country's first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, as acting president on Monday after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in the East Azerbaijan province.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement in a condolence message he shared for Raisi's death in the crash Sunday.
The Supreme Leader, also known as the Velayat-e Faqih in Shia Islamic theology, is the ultimate ruler in Iran and is responsible for making all major decisions concerning the state. The Supreme Leader, a position established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is also head of state and commander in chief.
Only men are allowed to be considered for the job. According to the type of Islamic law that’s implemented in Iran, it has to be given to a high ranking Shia theologian who must be at least at the rank of Ayatollah.
The President in Iran, meanwhile, is the head of the country’s executive branch and is elected in a closely vetted election process every four years. The president controls the government and, depending on that person’s political background and strength, can amass great influence over state policy and the economy.
According to Iran's constitution, upon the president's death, the first vice president assumes temporary leadership. Together with the judiciary chief and the parliament speaker, they hold a new presidential election within 50 days.
In this case, it appears certain that the temporary leader will be Mohammad Mokhber, a former officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and one-time head of an endowment that looks after the Islamic Republic’s assets.
Mohammad Mokhber (born June 26, 1955) is an Iranian politician who is serving as the acting president of Iran, and the current and seventh vice president of Iran. He is also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. He was former head of the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), the chairman of board at Sina Bank and deputy governor of Khuzestan Province.
As Iran's first vice president, Mokhber assumes, with the approval of the Supreme Leader of Iran, “the powers and functions of the President” upon the death of the president according to the Constitution of Iran. A Temporary Presidential Council is formed (Speaker of the Assembly, Head of Judiciary, First Vice President), and the council is to organize a new election within 50 days. Following the death of President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, Mohammad Mokhber has assumed the role of acting president of Iran.
