Senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed as Iran’s interim Supreme Leader following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US–Israeli airstrike on Tehran, according to the state-linked ISNA news agency.
Iran invoked Article 111 of its Constitution after confirming Khamenei’s death, triggering an emergency mechanism that transfers the Supreme Leader’s authority to a three-member council until a permanent successor is selected.
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Under Article 111, when the Supreme Leader is unable to perform duties, a temporary leadership body assumes full constitutional powers.
Arafi has been appointed as the jurist member of the interim council — a role drawn from the Guardian Council under Iran’s constitutional framework. With his inclusion, the three-man body is now complete.
He will jointly exercise the powers previously held solely by Khamenei alongside:
- Masoud Pezeshkian, President of Iran
- Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, Chief Justice of Iran
Together, the trio now holds the highest constitutional authority in the country during what Iranian officials have described as an unprecedented leadership crisis.
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Who Is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?
Born in 1959, the 67-year-old cleric is a senior figure within Iran’s religious and political establishment.
Before assuming the interim role, Arafi simultaneously held several influential positions. He heads Iran’s national network of Islamic seminaries, serves as a clerical member of the Guardian Council and is also part of the Assembly of Experts — the body constitutionally responsible for appointing and supervising the Supreme Leader.
His appointment positions him at the center of Iran’s transition period, both institutionally and religiously.
IRGC Announces Leadership Change
Separately, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed a leadership change after its commander-in-chief, Gen Mohammad Pakpour, was killed in Saturday’s strikes.
State media reported that Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed as the new IRGC chief.
The IRGC operates independently of Iran’s regular armed forces and wields extensive military, political and economic influence across the country.
Khamenei Killed in Coordinated Strike
Khamenei, 86, had ruled Iran since 1989. He was killed in what officials described as a large-scale US–Israeli operation targeting military bases, government sites and senior leadership compounds in Tehran.
Among the locations struck were facilities linked to Defence Minister Amir Naserzadeh and IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour.
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US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among the first world leaders to publicly confirm the cleric’s death.
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 initially denied reports of Khamenei’s death before confirming it Sunday morning (IST).
The country now faces both external military pressure and a delicate internal succession process.
