Iran Forms Interim Leadership Council Following Khamenei’s Death

Ayatollah Arafi Named to Lead Temporary Council with Iranian President and Chief Justice

TEHRAN: Iran has announced the formation of a three-member transitional council to handle the state duties following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Arafi and his co-leaders are strictly a stopgap measure.

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, member of a powerful constitutional watchdog, was appointed on Sunday to the temporary council, whose other two members are President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei. Together, these three men temporarily wield the ultimate authority previously held by Khamenei alone.

The 67-year-old cleric, who is a member of the Guardian Council that must later choose a supreme leader, was confirmed to the council by the Expediency Council, a powerful arbitration body.

According to Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, the transitional council will govern the country until an 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts chooses a new supreme leader after almost 37 years of rule by Khamenei.

His killing on Saturday by the joint United States and Israeli forces has raised crucial questions about Iran’s future.

Although the leadership council will govern in the interim, the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible,” pick a new supreme leader, according to the Iranian constitution.

"The Expediency Discernment Council has elected Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as a member of the interim leadership council," said expediency council spokesman Mohsen Dehnavi in a post on X.

The interim council, which will also include the president and the head of the judiciary, will lead the country until the Assembly of Experts "elects a permanent leader as soon as possible."                                

Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian released his first statement after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it a decisive turning point in the history of the Islamic world.

Iranian media has reported that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was martyred in a joint US-Israeli attack while performing official duties at his office.

Reports claim that members of his family, including his son, daughter-in-law, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were also killed in the strike.

Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?

Born in 1959, the 67-year-old Arafi is a heavyweight within Iran's religious establishment. Before this emergency appointment, he simultaneously held three of the most influential positions in the country: he is the Director of Iran's nationwide Islamic Seminary system, a vetting member of the powerful Guardian Council, and a sitting member of the Assembly of Experts.

The 'Modern' Hardliner

While deeply embedded in the traditional clerical structure of Qom, Arafi represents a slightly different breed of regime insider. He is considered highly educated, a polyglot who is fluent in both Arabic and English, and is notably technologically adept, frequently speaking on the need for the regime to adapt to artificial intelligence to spread its ideological message globally.

During this chaotic transition, Arafi's appointment is a signal of ideological continuity. Having served as the head of Al-Mustafa International University, a massive religious center dedicated to exporting the Islamic Republic's ideology abroad, he is viewed by the IRGC and the political elite as a completely safe, trusted loyalist who will not attempt to alter the regime's trajectory while the war rages.