Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Mohammad Reza Aref as the first vice president on Sunday, hours after taking office in a formal ceremony.

According to The Iran Project, Pezeshkian received his validation edict from Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and was officially validated into the office as the ninth president of Iran for four years, during a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday, July 28.

Hours after the endorsement ceremony, Pezeshkian issued a decree, appointing Aref as the first vice president.

Arerf, 73, used to serve as the first vice president in the administration of former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami from August 2001 until September 2005.

He is also an incumbent
member of the Expediency Council and represented Tehran in the Iranian Parliament from 2016 to 2020.

Aref finished a PhD in electrical and communication engineering in Stanford University in 1980.