Who Is Mohammad Mokhber? Iran's New Interim President

Mohammad Mokhber, 68, Iran's first vice-president who, based on the country's constitution, became interim president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Iran's supreme leader has appointed First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as country's acting president after a helicopter crash killed President Ebrahim Raisi.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement in a condolence message he shared for Raisi's death in the crash Sunday. The helicopter was found Monday in northwestern Iran. Khamenei also announced five days of mourning in the message.

Here are some key facts about Mohammad Mokhber

• As interim president, Mokhber will be part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organize a new presidential election within 50 days of the president's death.
• Born on September 1, 1955, Mokhber, like Raisi, is considered close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate authority over all state matters. Mokhber became the first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.
• Mokhber was part of a team of Iranian officials who visited Moscow in October and agreed to supply surface-to-surface missiles and more drones to Russia's military, sources told Reuters at the time. The team also included two senior officials from Iran's Revolutionary Guards and an official from the Supreme National Security Council.
• Prior to his vice-presidency, Mokhber headed Setad, an investment fund linked to the supreme leader.
• In 2010, the European Union included Mokhber on a list of individuals and entities it sanctioned for alleged involvement in "nuclear or ballistic missile activities." He was removed from the list two years later.
• In 2013, the U.S. Treasury Department added Setad and 37 companies it oversaw to a list of sanctioned entities.

Setad, whose full name is Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam, or the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, was established under an order issued by the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. It was tasked with selling and managing properties supposedly abandoned in the chaotic years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with the bulk of the proceeds directed to charity.