Iran has declared five days of mourning after the tragic helicopter crash that led to the demise of President Ebrahim Raisi, the foreign minister and several other officials.
The bodies of the victims were transferred from the crash site to the city of Tabriz on 20 May 2024. A funeral will be held today (21 May 2024) in Tabriz and after that the people of Tabriz will bid farewell to them in a procession.
The body of President Raisi will be brought by air to Mashhad for burial, which will take place on Wednesday, 22 May 2024. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei will lead the funeral prayers. Wednesday has been declared the day off in Iran.
Mourning processions are taking place across Iran.
The funeral rites will also take place today in the religious capital of Iran, Qom, and administrative capital, Tehran.
The commemoration ceremony with the presence of high-ranking foreign delegations, Wednesday at 16:00
The authorities in Iran have decided June 28 as the time for the election to determine the new president and announced: the registration of candidates will be done on the May 30-June 3, and the election campaign period will be from June 12-27.
The first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has taken over as the Acting President.
Ali Bagheri, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, has been appointed, as per the decision of the government cabinet on Monday, 20 May 2024, as the acting Foreign Minister.
The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri has assigned a high-ranking delegation to investigate into the case of the helicopter crash in which President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying team lost their lives.
The delegation headed by Brigadier Ali Abdollahi has been dispatched to the site of the incident and the investigation has already begun.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has sent message of condolence to Iran.
The members of the UN Security Council held a minute of silence at the beginning of their meeting on Monday local time in honor of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and I Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and their companions.
Messages of condolence are pouring in from all over the world.
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov sent deep condolences to the Acting President of Iran, Mohammad Mokhber.
“Being a prominent statesman, Seyed Ebrahim Raisi carried out successful work to confidently move the Islamic Republic of Iran forward, and also made a significant contribution to the development of constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation with Turkmenistan,” says the message.
“May Almighty Allah grant the relatives of the deceased and the entire Iranian people fortitude and courage at this difficult moment,” the President of Turkmenistan wished.
The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov sent deep condolences to the Supreme Spiritual Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
“Being a prominent politician and wise government leader, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi did a great job for the prosperous and happy life of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its people,” the message emphasizes.
On behalf of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan and on his own behalf, Arkadag conveyed words of deep empathy and support at this difficult moment to the family and friends of the deceased, as well as to the entire friendly people of Iran.
The minister of foreign affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, met on 20 May 2024 the Ambassador of Iran in Turkmenistan, Ali Mojtaba Ruzbekhani. Condolences were again expressed in connection with the death of the President of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other Iranian officials in a helicopter accident.
The Turkmen side emphasized that this tragedy resonated with pain in the hearts of all Turkmen citizens and expressed readiness to provide the necessary assistance to the Iranian side.
Meredov sent a message of condolence to the foreign office of Iran on the demise of the foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in the helicopter crash.
The state flags of Turkmenistan were lowered to half-mast on 20 May 2024 at the country’s diplomatic and consular missions in Tehran and Mashhad.
Biography of Acting President Mohmmad Mokhber
Born on 1 September 1955, Mokhber, hailing from Khuzestan Province, comes from a religious family; his father was a cleric. Mokhber received his primary education in Dezful and Ahvaz, and later obtained a doctorate in international law. Mokhber served as an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) medical corps during the Iran-Iraq War in the ’80s.
Later, in the 1990s, he worked as the CEO of Dezful Telecommunications and was then appointed as the deputy governor of the Khuzestan Province.
While serving at the Mostazafan Foundation and Sina Bank, he gained managerial experience and was able to form relationships with religious and political elites in the Supreme Leader’s patronage network. He also developed contacts in the Office of the Supreme Leader, which has direct control over the Mostazafan Foundation.
Mohammad Mokhber was selected as first vice president in August 2021. He is believed to be a close aide of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Since 2007, Mokhber served as the CEO of the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), which also goes by the name of Setad. According to reports, it is a multi-tiered, state-run foundation under the direct control of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Setad performs a wide range of services from building schools and hospitals, operating telemedicine to reach rural areas in Iran, producing pharmaceuticals, launching construction projects, job creation, and other large aid and assistance programs.
It was in 2021 that Mokhber stepped down as head of Setad when he was appointed as Iran’s first vice president. In fact, he was Raisi’s first personnel selection after taking office in early August 2021.
As first vice president, Mokhber has been engaged in Iran’s foreign policy. /// nCa, 21 May 2024