April 16, 2026 07:37 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
‘We are surprised’: SC stays Pawan Khera’s bail over remarks on Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife | Historic shift: Bihar gets first BJP CM as Samrat Choudhary takes oath | 'ECI deviated from Bihar procedure': Supreme Court raises concerns over voter deletion in Bengal SIR | Noida workers’ protest turns violent: Stones pelted, vehicles damaged over wage hike demand | Oil prices jump above $103 a barrel as US moves to block Iran-linked shipping | I don’t care if they come back or not, says Trump after Iran talks collapse | Legendary singer Asha Bhosle suffers cardiac arrest, hospitalised | Big boost to India–Mauritius ties: S. Jaishankar hands over 90 e-buses | Middle East tension: Iranian delegation arrives in Islamabad for major talks, 10,000 security personnel deployed | Ranveer Singh visits RSS HQ amid Dhurandhar 2 success, triggers speculation
Arafi
Iran has appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to its interim leadership council. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi? Iran names new Iranian Supreme Leader following Khamenei's death

| @indiablooms | Mar 01, 2026, at 05:12 pm

Iran has appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to its interim leadership council, just hours after officially announcing the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike conducted by Israel and the US on Saturday in the Iranian territory.

In an X post, expediency council spokesman Mohsen Dehnavi was quoted as saying by the media: "The Expediency Discernment Council has elected Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as a member of the interim leadership council."

According to reports, the council will also include President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

The council will reportedly lead the country until the Assembly of Experts until a permanent leader is elected.

Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?

Born in 1959, Arafi is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as a member of the Guardian Council since 2019, and a member of the Assembly of Experts since 2022.

He was long considered as a strong contender who would step into the shoes of Khamenei.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.