Meet Alireza Arafi, a Khamenei confidant on Iran’s Leadership Council
Long viewed as a potential successor to Khamenei, he has risen through the ranks largely through appointments by the late leader.
Senior cleric Alireza Arafi was selected as the final member of Iran’s Interim Leadership Council on Sunday after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state media reported. Arafi serves in a number of significant positions in the Islamic Republic establishment and is himself a contender to succeed Khamenei.
Arafi will serve on the council alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.
The three will lead Iran until the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body, elects a new supreme leader.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, and jurist member of the Guardian Council Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, have been appointed to serve on the Interim Leadership Council. pic.twitter.com/9h2e0rczvO
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 1, 2026
Khamenei was confirmed dead by Iranian authorities after the US and Israel launched strikes on the Islamic Republic Saturday, leading to the ongoing war.
