Who is Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's Interim President?

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. EPA
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. EPA
TT
20

Who is Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's Interim President?

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. EPA
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. EPA

Here are some key facts about Mohammad Mokhber, 68, Iran's first vice president who became interim president on the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
* As interim president, Mokhber is part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organize a new presidential election within 50 days of the president's death.
* Born on Sept. 1, 1955, Mokhber, like Raisi, is seen as close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the last say in all matters of state. Mokhber became first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.
* Mokhber was part of a team of Iranian officials who visited Moscow in October and agreed to supply surface-to-surface missiles and more drones to Russia's military, sources told Reuters at the time. The team also included two senior officials from Iran's Revolutionary Guards and an official from the Supreme National Security Council.
* Mokhber had previously been head of Setad, an investment fund linked to the supreme leader.
* In 2010, the European Union included Mokhber on a list of individuals and entities it was sanctioning for alleged involvement in "nuclear or ballistic missile activities". Two years later, it removed him from the list.
* In 2013, the US Treasury Department added Setad and 37 companies it oversaw to a list of sanctioned entities.
* Setad, whose full name is Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam, or the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, was set up under an order issued by the founder of Iran, Khamenei's predecessor, Khomeini. It ordered aides to sell and manage properties supposedly abandoned in the chaotic years after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and channel the bulk of the proceeds to charity.



Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria, Erdogan's office said on Sunday.

He told Trump that Türkiye supports his "decisive and direct initiatives" to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Türkiye will continue to strive for a "just and lasting peace", the statement said.

Erdogan also spoke of "the importance of jointly contributing to the lifting of sanctions on Syria to restore stability, make the new administration functional and support normalization," the statement said, adding that this would enable Syrians to return to their homeland.

Türkiye also expects steps from the United States regarding the fight against terrorism, taking into account Türkiye’s interests, it said.

In the battle against ISIS in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Türkiye regards as a terrorist group. Türkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.

Erdogan said it was necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalize Ankara's F-16 procurement process and its re-participation in the F-35 program in order to develop defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and the United States.

Ankara's past purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems prompted US sanctions and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.