Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, 68, is set to become interim president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Mokhber is a member of a three-person council that, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, will call a fresh presidential election within 50 days of the president's passing.

PHOTO | COURTESY 

He was born on September 1, 1955. Mokhber, like Raisi, is seen as close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state decisions. Mokhber became the first vice president in 2021 after Raisi was elected president.

According to Reuters, Mokhber was part of an Iranian delegation that visited Moscow in October and promised to give Russia's military with surface-to-surface missiles and more drones. The squad comprised two top Revolutionary Guards officers and a Supreme National Security Council member.

Mokhber was previously the head of Setad, an investment fund associated with the supreme commander.


In 2010, the European Union sanctioned Mokhber and other persons and businesses for their participation in "nuclear or ballistic missile activities." Two years later, he was removed from the list.

In 2013, the US Treasury Department added Setad and 37 firms it supervised to a list of sanctioned organizations.