Just a day after President Ebrahim Raeisi and his accompanying team were martyred in a helicopter crash on May 19, Leader of Iran’s Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed Vice-president Mohammad Mokhber as head of the Executive.
Ayatollah Khamenei issued a message of condolence, in which he said that Mokhber would take over the Executive.
The appointment of Mokhber, who became vice president in 2021 when Raiesi was elected president, is in line with the constitution.
On interim president, article 131 of the Iranian Constitution stipulates “in case of death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness lasting longer than two months of the President or when his term in office has ended and a new president has not been elected due to some impediments, or similar other circumstances, his first deputy shall assume, with the approval of the Leader, the powers and functions of the President.”
“In case of death of the first deputy to the President or other matters which prevent him from performing his duties or when the President does not have a first deputy, the Leader shall appoint another person in his place.”
“[Mokhber] is obliged to arrange with the heads of the legislative and judicial branches to elect a new president within a maximum of 50 days,” the Leader noted, a requirement also set out by the constitution.
According to article 131 “the Council, consisting of the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, head of the judicial power, and the first deputy of the President, is obliged to arrange for a new President to be elected within a maximum period of fifty days.”
In this course of time, the Leader highlights the duties of the acting president in all issues including regional developments.
On May 22, Ayatollah Khamenei received the chief of the political bureau of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas Ismail Haniyeh.
The Leader stressed that Mokhber will continue the policies and approaches of the late President Ebrahim Raeisi regarding Palestine with the same enthusiasm and spirit.
With regard to Iran's neighbor-focused policy, Mokhbar made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hussein Awad on May 26.
Mokhber praised the martyred Iranian president and foreign minister's role in promoting relations and cooperation with Islamic and neighboring countries, declaring that "such an approach will continue as the principled strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
The interim Iranian president also considered paying attention to the concerns of Muslims and Islamic countries as one of the priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that, "We will not hesitate to provide any help to the independence, progress, and peace of the people of Sudan."
The registration process for candidates who want to run in the upcoming Iranian snap presidential elections began on Thursday, May 30, and wrapped up on June 3.
On June 3, the Leader delivered a speech on the occasion of the 35th demise anniversary of the Founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini (RA).
During his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei called on the Iranian nation to hold the upcoming presidential election as glorious as possible, saying that the turnout in the election would be a great achievement for the people of Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran will hold presidential elections on June 28, 2024.
President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, East Azerbaijan’s governor, and six more people were on board a helicopter when it crashed in the Varzaqan region of the province on May 19.
Their aircraft and two other copters were en route to Tabriz City hours after Raisi, along with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, inaugurated the joint Qiz Qalasi Dam at the border between the two countries earlier on Sunday.
The wreckage of the helicopter carrying Raisi, as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other passengers as well as crew, was found on Monday morning after an overnight search in poor weather.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s lead negotiator on its nuclear program, has been appointed as acting foreign minister following the death of Amirabdollahian.
The Iranian leader announced five days of mourning in a statement, adding that he offers his “condolences to the dear people of Iran”.
Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour
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