Who is departed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s potential successor?

Article 131 of the Iranian Constitution states that in the case of the passing of the President of the Republic, the first vice president assumes the authority and duties of the president with the approval of the Leader of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran for a maximum period of 50 days. 

On August 6, 2021, President Ebrahim Raisi appointed Mohammad Mokhber, born in 1955, as his deputy in Khuzestan Province.

He received his first education in Dezful and Ahvaz before specializing in law and obtaining a doctorate in international law. 

Some of his milestones 

Mohammad Mokhber served as an officer in the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) medical corps during the Iran-Iraq war.

In the oil-rich Khuzestan Province, in the country’s southwest, he held several official positions and worked as the CEO of Dezful Telecommunications Company in the 1990s. 

In the early 21st century, he was appointed as the deputy head of commercial affairs of the Mostazafan Foundation and the head of the board of Sina Bank.

Since 2007, he served as the head of the Center for Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO) on order of the Leader of Iran, Sayyed Ali Khamenei. 

Some of his most important actions in EIKO are: 

• Establishment of the Barakat Foundation 
• Establishment of the Ehsan Foundation
• Establishment of the Tadbir Economic Development Group
• Inauguration of the Eradicating Deprivation and Achieving Development headquarters
• Supervising the Development of the first Iranian COVID-19 vaccine (CONIRAN BAREKAT)

In January 2021, Mokhber was added to the sanctions list by the US Treasury Department. 

President Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian, officials pronounced dead

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and accompanying officials have passed away in the tragic helicopter crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province, according to an official statement by Iranian state media.

After locating the helicopter carrying the Iranian President and accompanying officials on the morning of May 20, Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) issued a preliminary statement noting that there was “no sign of life” found near the wreckage locations.

This announcement comes over 16 hours after the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps reported they had lost contact with the helicopter carrying the officials. Since then, at least 73 rapid response and rescue teams from the provinces of East Azarbaijan, Tehran, Alborz, Ardabil, Zanjan, and West Azarbaijan were involved in the search and rescue operations led by the Iranian RCS.

Additionally, countries such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Russia participated in the search and rescue efforts in the province.