First VP Mokhber appointed as acting president
Iran’s first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting president of the Islamic Republic on Monday after the passing away of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country’s northwest.
Mokhber, 68, is expected to serve as caretaker president until a snap election will be held on June 28, 2024.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei approved Mokhber’s accession to the role.
Mokhber held an extraordinary meeting with judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the parliament speaker, on Monday morning.
“We will follow the path of Raisi in doing the duties entrusted without any disruptions,” Mokhber was quoted as saying by state media.
Iran’s veteran nuclear negotiator Ali Baqeri was also named acting foreign minister to replace the top diplomat Amir-Abdollahian killed in the helicopter crash.
Baqeri, 56, had served as deputy to the foreign minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Baqeri worked in the foreign ministry in the 1990s.