Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has moved into a pivotal constitutional role following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, becoming the clerical member of Iran’s temporary leadership council under Article 111 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Article 111 sets out the succession procedure if the Supreme Leader dies or is unable to perform his duties. In such circumstances, a three-member council assumes the Leader’s powers until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor.
The interim council consists of:
The interim council consists of the President, the Head of the Judiciary and a senior Islamic jurist drawn from the Guardian Council. Following Khamenei’s death, the body is composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and Arafi as the designated jurist member.
Although some descriptions have referred to Arafi as interim Supreme Leader, constitutionally he is one part of a collective authority rather than the sole office holder.
Born in 1959 in Meybod in Yazd province, Arafi comes from a clerical background and was educated in Qom, Iran’s leading centre of Shia religious scholarship. Over decades, he rose through the country’s theological institutions and became firmly embedded within the Islamic Republic’s religious establishment.
His influence stems primarily from institutional religious authority rather than electoral politics. He serves as a member of the Guardian Council, the body responsible for vetting legislation and approving election candidates. He is also a member of the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member clerical body tasked with appointing and supervising the Supreme Leader.
In addition, Arafi heads Iran’s national seminary system and previously led Al-Mustafa International University, an institution overseeing religious education for clerics from Iran and abroad. His positions within both the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts placed him at the constitutional core of the state even before the succession process began.
Khamenei’s death marks only the second leadership transition since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Assembly of Experts is now required to appoint a permanent successor, though the timing may be shaped by security and political conditions.
Until that decision is taken, Arafi, alongside the president and judiciary chief, forms part of the temporary leadership guiding Iran through a period of significant domestic and regional tension.
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The United States and Israel have carried out large-scale strikes on Iranian leadership and military targets, with Iranian state media confirming that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
Protests broke out in Pakistan and Iraq on Sunday after Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes. At least nine people were reported dead in clashes near the U.S. consulate in Karachi.
A number of senior Iranian figures have reportedly been killed in Saturday’s joint U.S.–Israeli airstrikes on Iran, according to Iranian state media, Israeli military statements and international reporting. Some of the details remain unverified. .
The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has triggered one of the most significant political processes in the Islamic Republic: the selection of a new Supreme Leader.
Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the U.S. and Israel launched “major combat operations” in Iran, prompting retaliation from Tehran.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Governments across the region responded swiftly to Israel’s strikes on Iran, closing airspace, issuing travel advisories and activating contingency plans amid fears of escalation.
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A senior Iranian official has warned Israel to “prepare for what is coming”, insisting that Tehran’s response to the latest escalation in the Middle East will be made openly and without limits.
The United States and Israel have carried out large-scale strikes on Iranian leadership and military targets, with Iranian state media confirming that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the U.S. and Israel launched “major combat operations” in Iran, prompting retaliation from Tehran.
A number of senior Iranian figures have reportedly been killed in Saturday’s joint U.S.–Israeli airstrikes on Iran, according to Iranian state media, Israeli military statements and international reporting. Some of the details remain unverified. .
The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has triggered one of the most significant political processes in the Islamic Republic: the selection of a new Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years and the country’s highest political and religious authority, has died aged 86 following joint Israeli and U.S. strikes on his compound in Tehran.
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