Mohammad Mokhber

Acting President of IranAssumed office
19 May 2024Supreme LeaderAli KhameneiPreceded byEbrahim Raisi (as President)7th First Vice President of IranAssumed office
8 August 2021PresidentEbrahim RaisiPreceded byEshaq JahangiriMember of Expediency Discernment CouncilAssumed office
20 September 2022Appointed byAli KhameneiChairmanSadeq LarijaniHead of the Execution of Imam Khomeini's OrderIn office
15 July 2007 – 7 December 2021Appointed byAli KhameneiPreceded byMohammad Javad IravaniSucceeded byAref Norouzi (acting)
Parviz Fattah Personal detailsBorn (1955-06-26) 26 June 1955 (age 68)
Dezful, Khuzestan, IranPolitical partyIndependentParent

Mohammad Mokhber^[a] (born 26 June 1955)^[1] is an Iranian politician who has been serving as the acting president of Iran since the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in the Varzaqan helicopter crash on 19 May 2024. Mokhber is the first vice president of Iran. He is also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. He has previously been head of the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), chairman of the Sina Bank board, and deputy governor of Khuzestan Province.

As first vice president, Mokhber assumes, with the approval of the Supreme Leader of Iran, "the powers and functions of the President" upon the death of the president according to the Constitution of Iran. A Temporary Presidential Council is formed (Speaker of the Assembly, Head of Judiciary, First Vice President), and the council is to organize a new election within 50 days.^[2] Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, he has assumed the role of acting president of Iran.

Early life and education

Muhammad Mokhber was born in Dezful,^[3] Iran, in 1955.^[4] He possesses two doctoral degrees, including a doctorate academic paper (and an MA) in international law; he also has a doctorate degree in management.^[4] He also holds an MA in management.^[5]

Career

He was as an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's medical corps during the Iran–Iraq War. In the 1990s, Mokhber was the CEO of Dezful Telecommunications in his hometown, then deputy governor of Khuzestan Province. From the 2000s he was the chairman of Sina Bank for about ten years. He became a senior official of the Mostazafan Foundation before becoming head of the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO) in 2007.^[6][7]

On 8 August 2021, President Ebrahim Raisi appointed Mokhber the first vice president of Iran,^[3] the seventh person to hold the office.^[3] In October 2022, he was sent to Moscow along with senior IRGC officials and a Supreme National Security Council official to finalize an agreement to send Shahed drones and surface-to-surface missiles to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine.^[8]

Acting President of Iran (2024–present)

On 19 May 2024, after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Mokhber assumed the role of Acting President of Iran^[9] and was confirmed in his position by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 20 May, until new presidential elections are held.^[10]

Sanctions

In July 2010, the European Union included Mokhber, then the president of EIKO, in a list of persons and entities it was sanctioning for alleged involvement in the issue of "nuclear or ballistic missiles activities." In 2012, Mokhber was removed from the list.^[11] In 2021, Mokhber was sanctioned by the United States over EIKO's role in violating “the rights of dissidents by confiscating land and property from opponents of the regime” and other human rights abuses.^[7]

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