Iranian state media reported Sunday that Ali Reza Arafi, a senior cleric and member of the Guardian Council, has been appointed to a three-member interim body that will assume the duties of the country’s supreme leader following the death of Ali Khamenei.
According to the reports, the temporary council consists of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and Arafi. The body will exercise the powers of the supreme leader until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor.
Under Iran’s Constitution, in the event of the supreme leader’s death, a council composed of the president, the head of the judiciary and a cleric from the Guardian Council assumes leadership responsibilities on an interim basis.
The Guardian Council, an unelected body with significant authority in Iran’s political system, has 12 members: six Islamic jurists appointed by the supreme leader and six legal experts nominated by the judiciary and approved by parliament. The council plays a central role in vetting legislation and approving candidates for public office.
Ahmad Jannati currently serves as the council’s secretary, its highest-ranking official.
The announcement comes a day after Iranian authorities confirmed that Khamenei was killed in joint US and Israeli airstrikes, an event that has plunged the country into a period of political uncertainty and heightened tensions across the region.
It was not immediately clear how long the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the supreme leader, would take to appoint a successor.
