Who will become President of Iran after Mr. Raisi died in plane crash?

Iran's constitution spells out what happens if the president becomes incapacitated or dies while in office.

According to Reuters news agency, Article 131 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic states: If a president dies while in office, the first vice president will take his place, after confirmation from the supreme leader, who has the most important say in all matters of Iran.

A council consisting of the first vice president, the speaker of the National Assembly and the head of the judiciary must then organize a new presidential election within a maximum of 50 days.

Mr. Raisi was elected president in 2021. According to the current calendar, Iran's presidential election will take place in 2025.

In Iran, the first vice president is an appointed position, not an elected one. The vice president assumed some of the powers of the prime minister after the position was abolished in 1989.

Iran has several vice presidents appointed concurrently, and vice presidents serve primarily as cabinet members. The most important of Iran's vice presidents is Mohammad Mokhber.

Shortly after taking office, President Raisi appointed Mr. Mokhber as first vice president in August 2021. Mr. Mokhber is the seventh person to assume that role since Iran amended its constitution.

Before being appointed vice president, Mr. Mokhber spent 14 years as director of Setad - a powerful economic group mainly focused on charity fields.

Setad, which is under the direct control of Iran's supreme leader and is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars, developed Iran's COVID-19 vaccine, Coviran Barekat, at the height of the pandemic, according to Reuters.

Rescue teams have been identified and are at the scene of the helicopter crash. At least 73 rescue teams are at the scene near the village of Tavil in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, according to Pir-Hossein Kolivand, chairman of the Iranian Red Crescent.

After rescuers located the helicopter wreckage, an Iranian official said the helicopter carrying President Raisi was completely burned when it crashed. “Unfortunately, all on board are feared dead,” the official told the news agency.

Earlier, on May 19, a Bell 212 helicopter carrying President Raisi and his entourage had an accident and had to make a “hard landing” in East Azarbaijan province. The helicopter convoy escorting Iranian President Raisi was on its way from Khoda Afarin to the provincial capital of Tabriz to attend the inauguration of a petrochemical complex.

According to IRIB TV, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Governor of East Azarbaijan Province Malek Rahmati were also on the helicopter carrying President Raisi. There were a total of nine people on the crashed helicopter.

Raisi’s delegation traveled in three helicopters. About 30 minutes after takeoff, the helicopter carrying Raisi lost contact with the other two. The helicopters immediately began searching the area for about 20 minutes, but were forced to make an emergency landing due to bad weather conditions and dense fog.