Who is Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, appointed acting president after crash?

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed president of the Islamic Republic after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country’s northwest. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement of Mokhber’s appointment on Monday in a condolence message he shared for Raisi’s death. The 68-year-old Mokhber has largely been in the shadows compared to other politicians in Iran’s Shiite theocracy. However, he’s held prominent positions with in the country’s power structure, particularly in its bonyads, or charitable foundations. Those groups were fueled by donations or assets seized after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, particularly those previously associated with Iran’s shah or those in his government.