By Abiola Olawale
Hours after the tragic demise of Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s supreme leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, has announced the assumption of Mohammad Mokhber as the interim president of the Middle-Eastern country.
Khamenei, who announced in a statement issued on Monday, May 20, said the appointment of Mokhber is in line with the constitution of the country.
Following the appointment, Iran now has a maximum period of 50 days to hold a presidential election to choose Raisi’s successor.
The statement reads in part: “By article 131 of the constitution, Mokhber is in charge of leading the executive branch.”
He added that Mokhber, 68, will be required to work with the heads of legislative and judicial arms to prepare for presidential elections “within a maximum period of 50 days.”
It would be recalled that Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country.
Raisi was travelling with Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who also passed away in the fatal accident.
Before his appointment to the vice presidency, Mokhber had served for 14 years as head of Iran’s Setad, or the Organisation for the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order.
Setad is a highly powerful economic conglomerate established under Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to focus on charitable affairs.
However, in 2021, Setad and Mokhber were sanctioned by the United States, with the US Treasury claiming the organisation was involved in rights violations among other things, including violating “the rights of dissidents by confiscating land and property from opponents of the regime.”
Born in Dezful in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, the 68-year-old was educated in electrical engineering and also holds a PhD in international law.
He was active in banking and communications earlier in his career, having operated as the head of the Khuzestan Telecommunications Authority and then being promoted to deputy governor of the province in the 1990s.
Before moving up to the Setad, Mokhber was a deputy at another bonyad, the powerful Mostazafan Foundation, which was also founded by Supreme Leader Khomeini as a charitable foundation.
