Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed as Iran’s interim Supreme Leader following the reported death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with a temporary leadership council assuming his duties until a successor is chosen.
The interim council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and a cleric from the Guardian Council, in line with Iran’s constitutional process.
Arafi, a 67-year-old senior cleric from Yazd Province, is a member of the Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts, has previously held senior academic roles, and is known for advocating modernization and technological advancement in Iran.
Senior Shia cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed as Iran’s interim Supreme Leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in what Iranian state media described as a precision strike carried out by the United States and Israel.
According to reports by Iranian Media, the 67-year-old Arafi will serve as a jurist member of a temporary leadership council responsible for carrying out the duties of the Supreme Leader until a permanent successor is chosen. The council also includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and another cleric from the Guardian Council.
Under Iran’s constitutional framework, the Assembly of Experts is tasked with appointing a new Supreme Leader. Until that process is completed, the interim leadership council will oversee the responsibilities traditionally held by the country’s highest authority.
Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?
Born in Meybod in Iran’s Yazd Province, Arafi holds the title of Ayatollah, signifying his status as a mujtahid, or senior Islamic scholar qualified to interpret religious law. He is currently a member of both the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for selecting and supervising the Supreme Leader. He has also previously served as the second deputy chairperson of the Assembly of Experts.
Arafi formerly led Al-Mustafa International University, an institution known for its focus on Islamic scholarship and international religious outreach. Reports indicate that he is fluent in Arabic and English and has advocated for technological modernization in Iran, including emphasizing the importance of adapting to developments in artificial intelligence.
Khamenei's Death
Presidents came and went, but Khamenei remained the fixed centre of power, shaping both domestic repression and foreign confrontation.
Throughout his 36-year rule, he transformed Iran into the Middle East’s most vocal anti-US force. Denouncing Washington as the “Great Satan,” he backed regional militant networks across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and championed Iran’s nuclear programme as a sovereign right. Though he cautiously supported the 2015 nuclear deal, he never softened his distrust of the US, particularly after President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.
Khamenei’s foreign defiance was matched by domestic rigidity, and throughout his rule, he faced repeated waves of unrest that tested the Islamic Republic’s internal cohesion.
Student protests erupted in 1999 and again in 2002, signalling early frustration among younger Iranians. The most serious legitimacy crisis came in 2009, when he endorsed disputed presidential election results, triggering the Green Movement.
