Who is Iran's first Vice President, Mohammad Mokhber, appointed acting President after crash?

Iran's new acting President Mohammad Mokhber, previously in the shadows, faces scrutiny over his past and current actions.

Iran's first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting President of the Islamic Republic on May 20 after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country's northwest.

Mr. Mokhber, 68, largely has been in the shadows compared to other politicians in Iran's Shia theocracy. Raisi's death under the constitution thrust Mr. Mokhber into public view. He is expected to serve as caretaker President for some 50 days before mandatory presidential elections in Iran.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement of Mr. Mokhber’s appointment in a condolence message he shared for Raisi’s death in the crash on May 19. The helicopter was found on May 20 in northwestern Iran.

Despite his low-key public profile, Mr. Mokhber has held prominent positions with in the country's power structure, particularly in its bonyads, or charitable foundations. Those groups were fuelled by donations or assets seized after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, particularly those previously associated with Iran's shah or those in his government.

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Mr. Mokhber oversaw a bonyad known in English as the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, or EIKO, referring to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The U.S. Treasury said the organization oversaw billions of dollars in assets as “a business juggernaut under the direct supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that has a stake in nearly every sector of the Iranian economy, including energy, telecommunications, and financial services.”