Iran chopper crash: Mohammad Mokhber appointed as interim president

Vice president Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed as the interim president following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in the helicopter accident. 

The decision was announced by Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on May 20. 

According to Khamenei Mokhber has a maximum of 50 days to organise and conduct elections to choose a new president, as reports stated. 

“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. 

Mokhber was associated with business administration and management and was born in Dezful, Khuzestan Province. 

Mokhber assumed the role of first vice president in 2021 following Ebrahim Raisi’s election as president and is also known for his close ties to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. 

In the chopper crash, foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian lost his life following which Ali Bagheri Kani was appointed the acting minister by the Iranian cabinet.