Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has been assigned by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to assume interim duties following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
“In accordance with Article 131 of the constitution, Mokhber is in charge of leading the executive branch,” said Khamenei in a statement, adding that Mokhber will be required to work with the heads of legislative and judicial branches to prepare for presidential elections “within a maximum period of 50 days.”.
Chronicle NG reports that Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country.
He was travelling with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who also died in the accident.
Rescue teams had been searching the area since Sunday afternoon, when a chopper carrying Raisi, the foreign minister, and other officials went missing.
Early Monday, relief workers found the missing helicopter, and state TV reported that the president had died.
“The servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, has achieved the highest level of martyrdom while serving the people,” state television announced Monday, as Mehr news agency confirmed his death.
Raisi’s images were carried on state television, with a man’s voice reciting the Koran in the background.
Mohsen Mansouri, Iran’s deputy president for executive affairs, wrote on X a Koranic poem intended to convey condolences.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has declared five days of mourning for Raisi.
