Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as the acting president of the Islamic Republic on Monday following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country’s northwest.
According to Article 131 of Iranian law, if a president dies during his tenure, the first vice president assumes the role of acting president with the approval of the supreme leader, who has the final authority in all national matters.
Moreover, a three-member committee, including the first vice president, the speaker of parliament, and the head of the judiciary, must organize a presidential election within 50 days.
Who is Mohammad Mokhber?
Mohammad Mokhber, 68, was appointed as Iran’s first vice president by Ayatollah Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi in August 2021. Born on September 1, 1955, in Dezful, located in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, Mokhber comes from a clerical family. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, he served as an officer in the Revolutionary Guard’s medical corps, according to the pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran.
Despite his low public profile compared to other politicians in Iran’s ruling class, Mokhber has held significant positions within the country’s power structure, particularly within its charitable foundations, known as bonyads.
He oversaw a major bonyad, the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), named after the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The U.S. Treasury has described EIKO as a “business juggernaut” under the direct supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with substantial assets in sectors such as energy, telecommunications, and financial services.
As head of EIKO, Mokhber led efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, promising to produce tens of millions of doses. However, only a fraction of these doses were ever distributed to the public, without explanation.
Mokhber’s career includes roles in banking and telecommunications. He also worked at the Mostazafan Foundation, another significant bonyad that manages major projects and businesses in Iran. During his tenure there, he became embroiled in a legal dispute between mobile phone service providers Turkcell and South Africa’s MTN over potential entry into the Iranian market. Mokhber, who holds a doctorate in international law, played a crucial role in Iran’s efforts to circumvent Western sanctions on its oil industry.
