Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been named acting Supreme Leader of Iran, ISNA reports, following the deaths of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi in coordinated U.S.–Israel airstrikes.
The Expediency Discernment Council elected Arafi, 67, as the jurist member of the Guardian Council within the Leadership Council, which is mandated to carry out the Supreme Leader’s duties until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor.
Arafi, who serves on the powerful Guardian Council, will oversee state affairs as part of a three-member Interim Leadership Council alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei. The Interim Council is legally empowered to manage the country’s executive, legislative, and religious responsibilities during the transition period.
The appointments follow a period of unprecedented turmoil in Iran’s political and military hierarchy, as U.S.–Israeli strikes removed multiple top leaders in rapid succession. Analysts warn that the sudden changes could have wide-reaching effects on Iran’s internal stability and its strategic posture in the Middle East.