Ali Khamenei Appoints Mokber as Interim Head of Government, Declares Five Days of National Mourning
Ali Khamenei, in a statement regarding the death of Ibrahim Raisi in yesterday’s aviation incident, described it as “martyrdom-like” and appointed Mohammad Mokber to “manage the executive branch” to arrange, “in coordination with the heads of the legislative and judiciary branches,” for a new president to be elected within “a maximum of fifty days.”
Khamenei also declared five days of “national mourning” on the occasion of Raisi’s death and the members of his delegation.
Hours earlier, news of the death of Ibrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, Malik Rahmati, and other passengers aboard the flight carrying the delegation of Iran’s Islamic Republic government head was released by official government media.
The government cabinet held a session following the death of Ibrahim Raisi and his delegation and issued a statement, and while expressing condolences for the helicopter crash, announced: “The support of the great people will not cause the slightest disruption in the jihadi management of Iran.”
Following the official announcement of Ibrahim Raisi’s death, an emergency session of the “heads of branches” with the presence of Bagheri Kani and Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje was held Monday morning, hosted by Mohammad Mokber, the first deputy of the government head.
According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic, in the event of the president’s death, the first deputy assumes the head of government with the approval of the leader of the Islamic Republic, and a council consisting of the heads of the legislative, judiciary, and the first deputy of the government assume executive responsibility to hold new presidential elections within 50 days.
The broadcast of conflicting news about the incident continued more than 16 hours after it occurred, leading some to raise speculation that there had been a cover-up.
Relief forces of the Islamic Republic claimed that due to severe fog and unstable weather conditions, they were unable to locate the helicopter and determine the fate of its passengers.
The exact location of the crashed helicopter was determined around 4 a.m. Iranian time with the help of a night vision drone sent by Turkey, but in the hours that followed, Islamic Republic authorities insisted on emphasizing that the scene of the accident was identified by Iranian drones.
The country’s head of cyber police also announced from the early hours of Monday morning “we are carefully monitoring cyberspace” and warned citizens that “in the current sensitive situation,” they should “refrain” from publishing content that would “incite” “public emotions.”
Since the news of the incident was released regarding Ibrahim Raisi and his delegation, Iranian users on social media have reacted extensively to the issue. Government opponents expressed satisfaction with satirical and humorous posts, while government supporters responded with “epic” posts about the death of several Islamic Republic officials.
Source: Voice of America
