Hours after the official announcement of the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in a helicopter crash in a rugged mountainous area in East Azerbaijan province, northwest of the country, the Iranian government confirmed that the administration would continue without any problems.
In a statement on Monday, the government emphasized that Raisi’s death would not cause “any disruption” in its work, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Elections within 50 days
Meanwhile, Tahhan Nazif, spokesperson for the Guardian Council, announced that the first assistant to Raisi assumes the responsibilities of the president according to the constitution.
He also announced that the heads of the judiciary and parliament, along with the first assistant to the president, are arranging presidential elections within 50 days.
9 aboard the helicopter
This came after the government held an emergency meeting following the official announcement of the death of the country’s president and foreign minister and their entourage in the helicopter crash yesterday.
Who is Mohammad Mokhber?
Also aboard the helicopter that crashed on Sunday were Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, the Friday Imam of Tabriz, Malik Rahmati, the governor of East Azerbaijan, Sayyed Mehdi Mousavi, the president’s protection unit chief, and a member of the Revolutionary Guards from the Ansar al-Mahdi Corps, in addition to the pilot, co-pilot, and a technical officer.
Mohammad Mokhber
It is worth mentioning that the Iranian constitution stipulates that in the event of the president’s inability to perform his duties or his death, his first deputy, Mohammad Mokhber, assumes the state’s affairs in this case.
Article 131 of the constitution states that if the president dies while in office, his first deputy assumes the position, with the confirmation of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state affairs.
A council consisting of the first deputy president, the parliament speaker, and the head of the judiciary arranges for the election of a new president within a maximum period of 50 days.
