Alireza Arafi: Interim Leader After Khamenei's Death

Alireza Arafi has assumed the role of interim Supreme Leader following the death of Khamenei. A cleric and member of the Guardian Council, Arafi will participate in the interim Leadership Council alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

Prior to his emergency leadership role, Arafi held three significant positions in Iran: he led the national network of Islamic Seminaries, was a member of the Guardian Council, and participated in the Assembly of Experts.

He has emphasized the need to leverage artificial intelligence to promote the ideology of the Islamic Republic. His rise is seen as a message of continuity of the regime's ideological line. In the past, he led the Al-Mustafa International University network.

He is considered a reliable figure for the Revolutionary Guards and the political elite. Arafi and the others have a transitional mission, ensuring the functioning of the state until the Assembly of Experts elects the permanent successor to the Supreme Leader.

Alireza Arafi has been appointed as a legal member of Iran's Leadership Council, tasked with fulfilling the role of supreme leader until the Assembly of Experts elects a new leader, ISNA news agency reported.

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, born in 1959, is considered a leading figure in Iran's religious establishment.

Despite his relationship with the traditional clerical structure, Arafi is educated, speaks Arabic and English, and is familiar with technology.