Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved Mohammad Mokber as interim president and declared five days of mourning in Iran after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi last night, reports Reuters.
Mokber will be in the position of president for a maximum of 50 days in order to prepare the presidential elections.
The cabinet appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs following the death of Hossein Amirabdolakhian in a helicopter crash. Bageri Kani previously held the position of Iran's chief nuclear negotiator.
"I declare five days of public mourning and express my condolences to the dear people of Iran," Khamenei said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
"Mokber will manage the executive branch and is required to agree with the heads of the legislative and judicial branches to elect a new president within a maximum of 50 days," Iran's supreme leader said.
According to Article 131 of the Iranian constitution, a council consisting of the first vice president, the speaker of the parliament and the head of the judiciary must prepare elections for a new president.
Mokber, like Raisi, is considered close to Khamenei, who has the final say on all major state issues. Mokber became the first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.
After the meeting with the heads of the legislative and judicial authorities, Mokber had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports Reuters.
The Russian president said that Raisi was a reliable partner and emphasized the common intention to strengthen cooperation between the two countries
The Guardian published a video showing the aftermath of the helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president:
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This morning, rescue services pulled out the remains of Raisi and eight other people who were traveling in the helicopter that crashed in the northwest of the country, the Red Crescent announced, Beta reports.
The transfer of the martyr's body to Tabriz, a large city in northwestern Iran, is underway, Red Crescent chief Pirhosein Kulivand told state television and announced the end of the search operation.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdolahian and other officials were killed in a helicopter crash that went missing yesterday afternoon while flying over a mountainous and forested area in the country's northwest in heavy rain and fog.
The search for the downed helicopter lasted all night.
The wreckage was found at dawn, and rescuers soon said that there was no sign of life in the downed aircraft, state television reported.
Among the dead are the governor of East Azerbaijan province, the chief imam of the region, as well as the head of security for the president of Iran and three crew members.
Iranian President Raisi was returning yesterday with a delegation after the ceremony of opening the dam on the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, in which he participated with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that there were nine passengers in the helicopter. Among the dead are Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdolahian (60), East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and Major General Seyed Mehdi Mousavi, head of security for the Iranian president.
According to Iranian law, if the president dies, power is transferred to the first vice president, which is currently Muhamad Mokber. His appointment must be confirmed by the supreme leader, who has the final word on all major state affairs in Iran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and that country's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov expressed their condolences for Raisi's death, as did Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, European Council President Charles Michel and many others.
The Lebanese national flag was flown at half-mast outside the government palace, while Lebanon announced three days of national mourning for Raisi's death. Three days of mourning were declared in Syria as well. Extremist movements Hamas and Hezbollah have also spoken out, issuing statements expressing their condolences to Iran.
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Italian Prime Minister Đorđa Meloni pointed out that the Iranian authorities "attribute the death of Raisi to an accident, not to conspiracy theories", and expressed the hope that the future Iranian leadership will devote itself to the stabilization and pacification of the region. "In these hours, I see that the Iranian authorities adhere to the thesis that it is an accident, not a conspiracy theory. I do not see any changes in the internal order in Iran, we are in constant contact with our European and G7 allies, because we are talking about an incident that part of a particularly complex regional framework. I hope that the future Iranian leadership wants to commit to the stabilization and pacification of the region," Meloni told Channel 5 television.
Palestinian President Mahumud Abbas also expressed his condolences.
"We express our sincere condolences to the Iranian people for the death of President Raisi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, praying to the Almighty God to bestow His great mercy on the deceased Iranian President and others, and to grant patience and comfort to their families, affirming the solidarity of the State of Palestine and its people with the Iranian leadership and the people in this great trouble," Abbas said.
Polish President Andrzej Duda recalled the plane crash in Smolensk in 2010, the accident that killed 96 people, including then-President Lech Kaczynski, and wrote that Poles know the feeling of shock after the sudden loss of a political leader.
"Therefore, with special understanding, we join the relatives of the victims and the Iranian nation in prayer and mourning," Duda wrote on the X social network.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed his deep condolences over the death of Iranian President Raisi. He said that China is ready to continue providing all necessary support to Iran and expressed his belief that the Iranian authorities and people are capable of overcoming these difficult times, reports Reuters.
He added that China provided active assistance in the rescue operation after the accident, without giving details.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borelj, said that the European Union expresses its condolences for the death of Raisi, Amriabdolakhian and other Iranian officials.
Israeli military analyst: This is not bad news for Israel, Tehran will focus less on the war in Gaza
Israel has not yet officially commented on Raisi's death, but an unnamed official from that country said in a statement to local media that Israel was not involved. Israel's Mossad security service has been accused of multiple assassinations and explosions in Iran in recent years, while its air force has bombed Iranian facilities in Lebanon and Syria, but Israel rarely comments on those activities.
For now, analyzes in Israel show that no significant changes are expected in the long-standing "cold war" with Tehran, the Guardian reports. However, it is pointed out that the internal power struggle that will be triggered by this surprising vacuum could divert Tehran's focus from the war in Gaza.
Extremist movements in Syria, Iraq and Yemen linked to Iran have attacked Israel with rockets and drones since the war in Gaza began last year, while a conflict with Hezbollah simmers on Israel's northern border.
"This is not bad news for Israel. However, events in Iran are likely to unfold at a different pace than those around us. If a positive scenario occurs, the government in Tehran could be more committed to internal affairs, which would lessen the pressure on Hezbollah to remain active front against the Israel Defense Forces," writes military analyst Amos Harel of the left-wing Haaretz daily.
Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel last month, which Raisi authorized, in what they said was retaliation for Israel's bombing of an Iranian diplomatic facility in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
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