Who Is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi? Named As The New Interim Supreme Leader Of Iran After Khamenei's Death

The article reports on Iran's interim leadership arrangement following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel strike, with Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and a three-member council overseeing state affairs as the country navigates the transition.

Senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi will act as Iran's interim Supreme Leader after Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israel airstrike on Tehran.

The change places Arafi at the centre of Iran's power structure while the country absorbs the attack.

Under Iran's constitution, Arafi has been named the jurist member of an interim leadership council that temporarily assumes the Supreme Leader's duties. This council is expected to function until a formal successor is selected through Iran's established procedure.

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who previously headed Iran's religious seminaries and served as the Friday prayer leader in Qom, has been appointed by the Expediency Discernment Council to temporarily share the responsibilities of the Supreme Leader along with the president and the chief justice.

US-Israel strike and Khamenei death

The US-Israel military strike on Saturday killed Khamenei, aged 86, who had led Iran since 1989. The operation hit military bases, government facilities and senior command sites, including locations linked to Defence Minister Amir Naserzadeh and commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour.

Iran leadership transition after US-Israel strike

The interim council now comprises President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i and the cleric from the Guardian Council. Together, these three figures will guide state affairs during the transition period that follows Khamenei's death.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly announced Khamenei's death soon after the strike. On X, Trump wrote: "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead.

This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty thugs." Iran first rejected those claims, then confirmed the death on Sunday morning (IST), leaving the country facing both ongoing external attacks and a sensitive leadership shift in the weeks ahead.