The 68-year-old Mohammad Mohbar has taken over temporary presidential duties in Iran, after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi was confirmed.

Mohbar, who was previously Iran’s first Vice President, will hold the presidency for 50 days, as stipulated in Article 131 of the Iranian constitution. The article provides that in the event of death, resignation, dismissal, absence, or illness lasting more than two months, the first Vice President has the right to assume the duties of President.

The Supreme Leader of the country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved the appointment of Mohammad Mohbar as the President of Iran. Khamenei said that the interim President has 50 days to hold new presidential elections. The process will be coordinated with the heads of the Judiciary and the Parliament.

At the same time, Tehran announced that Ali Bagheri was taking over as Deputy Foreign Minister following Hossein Amir Abdullahian’s death. Iran’s supreme leader also declared five days of national mourning in the country over the tragedy.

Iranian media reports that the country’s acting President is a person in the inner circle of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to Euronews, it should be noted that Mohammad Mohber was a member of the Iranian delegation that traveled to Moscow six months ago and agreed to supply missiles and UAVs to the Russian military.

In 2010 his name was on the “black” list of the European Union about individuals and entities sanctioned for involvement in nuclear or ballistic missile activities and two years later his name was removed from that list.

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Iran’s acting President was born in Dezful, Khuzestan province and has held many high-ranking positions. He has also served as the head of companies and since 2007 has chaired the Foundation of the Order of Imams (Setad), which manages the properties confiscated after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

As for the Deputy Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri, 57, has been associated with Iran’s Foreign Ministry for much of his political career and describes himself as a diplomat since the 1990s.

He has been a vocal critic of the 2015 nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – JCPOA).

Bagheri has been involved several times in negotiations between Tehran and the West. Under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he engaged in direct talks with the US delegation, defending his country’s identity, publicly sharing Khamenei’s deep distrust of the West, particularly the US.

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