Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokber, becomes acting president. Mokber is a conservative political operative who has long been involved in a large conglomerate with close ties to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Khamenei said in a statement on Monday that Mokbel must work with the heads of the legislature and judiciary to hold new presidential elections within 50 days.
Iran’s vice president typically keeps a low profile and operates more as a player within the government than as a public figure.
“Iran’s vice president is not traditionally a candidate to succeed his boss,” said Robin Wright, a research fellow at the US Institute of Peace and the Wilson Center in Washington. “The bigger question is who the administration will run for office,” she added.
Mr. Mokba, who is approximately 68 years old, was sworn in as first vice president in August 2021.
One of Mokber’s relatively few high-profile appearances was in October 2022, when he and three other Iranian officials were asked to complete the sale of Iranian drones and ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. The name was when I visited Moscow.
Raisi said Mokber held senior positions in some of Iran’s most powerful organizations, including the Mostazafan Foundation, Sina Bank and Setad, a conglomerate with billions of dollars in assets and completely controlled by Khamenei. As a result, he selected him as vice president. Efforts to manufacture and distribute coronavirus vaccines have not been a complete success.
All three organizations, while not directly state-owned, are part of a opaque network of financial institutions tied to the Iranian state. These also relate to projects that are a priority for the Supreme Leader and his inner circle.
Rayleigh Nikonazar Contributed to the report.
