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Iran Declares Five-Day Mourning For President Raisi, Appoints Mokhber As Interim President

NONE
May 20, 2024

Mokhber has a maximum period of 50 days to hold elections.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has announced that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is in charge of the executive branch following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Mokhber has a maximum period of 50 days to hold elections.

The supreme leader Khamenei also announced five days of mourning for President Raisi, saying in an official statement on Monday, “I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran.”

Raisi was killed in a crash that occurred on Sunday in Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azerbaijan province.

The incident occurred as the president was returning from an event to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

Raisi was a hardliner largely considered as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.