Iran’s Mokhber Appointed President, Kani Becomes Acting FM

FILE PHOTO: Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber welcomes Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq (not pictured) upon his arrival at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran May 28, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber welcomes Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq (not pictured) upon his arrival at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran May 28, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iran’s Mokhber Appointed President, Kani Becomes Acting FM

FILE PHOTO: Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber welcomes Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq (not pictured) upon his arrival at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran May 28, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber welcomes Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq (not pictured) upon his arrival at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran May 28, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran’s supreme leader has appointed First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as the country’s acting president after a helicopter crash killed President Ebrahim Raisi.
Ali Khamenei made the announcement in a condolence message he shared for Raisi’s death in the crash Sunday. The helicopter was found Monday in northwestern Iran.
Khamenei also announced five days of mourning in the message.

Mokhber now has a maximum period of 50 days to hold elections, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

Iran's government cabinet also appointed on Monday Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister following the death of Hossein Amirabdollahian in the same helicopter crash.



Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi announced he intends to visit Tehran through a letter he addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Mehr Agency reported that Grossi sent a congratulatory message to the Iranian president-elect, which stated: “I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election win as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Cooperation between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the focal attention of the international circles for many years. I am confident that, together, we will be able to make decisive progress on this crucial matter.”

“To that effect, I wish to express my readiness to travel to Iran to meet with you at the earliest convenience,” Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Grossi as saying.

The meeting – should it take place - will be the first for Pezeshkian, who had pledged during his election campaign to be open to the West to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue.

Last week, American and Israeli officials told the Axios news site that Washington sent a secret warning to Tehran last month regarding its fears of Iranian research and development activities that might be used to produce nuclear weapons.

In May, Grossi expressed his dissatisfaction with the course of the talks he held over two days in Iran in an effort to resolve outstanding matters.

Since the death of the former Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi, the IAEA chief refrained from raising the Iranian nuclear file, while European sources said that Tehran had asked to “freeze discussions” until the internal situation was arranged and a new president was elected.