Ayatollah Khamenei Names Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as Iran’s New President After Raisi’s Death

Following President Raisi’s death in a helicopter accident, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has been named as the acting president.

Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, swiftly appointed Vice President Muhammad Mokhber to fill in as interim leader and declared a five-day mourning period following the deaths of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, President Ebrahim Raisi, and other officials in a helicopter accident.

After their helicopter crashed on Sunday, Raisi and the nation’s foreign minister were discovered dead in the early hours of Monday, depriving the Islamic Republic of two important figures.

Following the downing of the helicopter they were riding in, state media verified their deaths. The 63-year-old Raisi was considered a strong contender to succeed the supreme commander.

At first, it was said that the men and their entourage had been forced to make a rough landing in dense fog in their helicopter. The location of the aircraft’s crash is near the Azerbaijani border, where Raisi had been having meetings with President Ilham Aliyev.

He was there to officially inaugurate the Khodaafarin and Qiz Qalasi dams, according to the local media.

The president’s and the other victims of the crash have been found, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, which also verified that search and rescue efforts had concluded on Monday.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps-affiliated Iranian news source Tasnim announced that Raisi’s funeral will take place in Tabriz on Tuesday.

Hard-line cleric Raisi, 63, solidified conservative dominance over the entirety of the Islamic Republic with his election as president in 2021. The Iranian government declared in a statement that it would carry on “without disruption” after his passing.

The state-run IRNA news agency said that all eight occupants of the Bell 212 helicopter, which Iran had purchased in the early 2000s, perished in the crash.

Since the time of the shah, Bell helicopters have been widely used in Iran. However, due to Western sanctions, planes in Iran frequently operate without safety inspections and experience a shortage of parts.

According to aviation data business Cirium, there are now 15 Bell 212 helicopters registered in Iran, with an average age of 35 years. These helicopters may be in storage or be actively used.

No apparent cause for the crash in the Iranian region of East Azerbaijan was provided by state TV. IRNA footage displayed the accident location, which was located across a precipitous valley among a range of lush mountains.

According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the nation is still keeping an eye on the circumstances surrounding the “very unfortunate helicopter crash,” but it is unable to determine what caused it. He stated, “At this point in time, I don’t necessarily see any broader regional security impacts.”

In a statement issued by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Raisi “a true friend of Russia.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Syrian President Bashar Assad also expressed their sympathies.

However, Tinubu expressed deep sorrow over this upsetting incident in a statement released on Monday by his media adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, and characterized Raisi as a leader who was fervently dedicated to Iran’s progress.

As he offered condolences to the relatives of the deceased, Tinubu prayed for the country of Iran to remain peaceful, stable, and prosperous.

The president of the Islamic Republic of Nigeria promised the country’s prayers and support at this time of sorrow on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria.