Iran’s Raisi names Mokhber as first VP

Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday named the chairman of a powerful state-owned foundation sanctioned by the United States as his first vice-president, the president’s official website said.

Mohammad Mokhber, long rumoured by local media to be top pick for the position, has for years headed the foundation known as Setad, or the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s order, in reference to the Islamic republic’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini, Euractiv reported.

Mokhber was appointed to the position by the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2007, following a string of official positions at the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

The Setad and Mokhber were blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in January.