Tehran, 20 May 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has named First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as acting president in the wake of Ebrahim Raisi's death in a helicopter crash.

Khamenei also ordered five days of national mourning for Raisi, the hardliner who had held the presidency since 2021.

Khamenei described Raisi as "tireless" and said the Iranian people had lost a "valuable and sincere person."

According to protocol, Mokhber had been expected to become interim president. New elections will now have to be held within 50 days.

Raisi and eight other passengers, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, died when their helicopter went down on Sunday over mountainous terrain in dense fog.

Photo: EPA