Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed as the acting Supreme Leader of Iran, according to reports from ISNA.
The appointment follows the Expediency Discernment Council’s election of Ayatollah Arafi as the jurist member of the Guardian Council within the Leadership Council.
The Leadership Council is tasked with carrying out the duties of the Supreme Leader until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor.
The 67-year-old cleric, who serves on the powerful Guardian Council, was confirmed as part of the three-member interim body by the Expediency Council.
Arafi will serve alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei on the Interim Council, which is legally mandated to oversee leadership responsibilities during the transition period.
The move comes amid heightened regional tensions following recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top regime officials.
