Within hours of the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the longtime Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in a joint US-Israeli airstrike, Tehran announced a new interim leadership. On Sunday (March 1), the Iranian government appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as the country’s interim supreme leader. Khamenei was the supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He assumed office after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic occupation.
According to the government news agency, a three-member council will assume leadership responsibilities in the interim during the process of transfer of power in the country. The council will include President Massoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam Hussein Mohseni AJEI and an Islamic jurist from the Guardian Council.
Under Iran’s constitution, the council will assume leadership responsibilities until the 88-member Assembly of Experts appoints a permanent supreme leader. This body has the final authority over the country’s political system, armed forces and major institutions.
Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was born in 1959 in Meybod in central Iran. He is considered a Shia Ulama and Islamic jurist. Since 2016 he has been the director of Qom Seminary and head of the Islamic Seminary Management Center of Iran.
Arafi is a member of the Guardian Council, a powerful constitutional body of the Islamic regime that reviews laws and monitors elections. He has been the President of Al-Mustafa International University from 2008 to 2018 and a permanent member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution since 2011.
After Khamenei’s death, there is a possibility of a deep impact on Iran’s internal and regional politics. The purpose of the interim appointment is to maintain stability in power and ensure the appointment of a permanent successor under the constitutional process.
At present, all eyes are on the next meeting of the Assembly of Experts, where a decisive decision will be taken regarding the future supreme leader of Iran. This change of power could prove important in deciding the political direction of Iran amidst the already ongoing military tension in the region.
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