Iran’s acting president addresses new parliament after helicopter crash killing president, others

By NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s acting President Mohammad Mokhber has addressed the country’s new parliament for the first time since last week’s helicopter crash that killed his predecessor and seven others. Mokhber’s speech on Monday comes as Iran prepares for a presidential election to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi in just a month, a vote that could see the previously behind-the-scenes bureaucrat potentially run alongside others. Mokhber asserted that the country’s economy remained stable under Raisi when Iran took military actions in Iraq, Israel and Pakistan in recent months. On May 20, rescuers recovered the bodies of Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others in a mountainous region in northwestern Iran following the crash.