The Iranian state media announced on Wednesday that in wake of the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an official and sudden news source that Iranian state media is covering the news, Article 111 of the Constitution has been triggered. The clerical head of the three-man interim leadership council is appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a hardliner and a powerful leader in the Muslim religious community who has his influence in the clergy as well as the religious forces.
The interim council: three guys and a half in crisis
Hence, by the death of a Supreme Leader as prescribed by Iranian law provides a short-term leader to lead the state, whilst permanent successor of such a supreme leader is appointed by the Assembly of Experts. At present on the council are:
- Ayatollah Alireza Arafi (Clerical Representative).
- Masoud Pezeshkian (President of Iran).
- Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i (Chief Justice).
The council must defend the peace while the nation reflects on the results of a massive military campaign by American and Israeli forces against Iran (which allegedly killed a number of senior officials and leaders, perhaps including Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former President).
Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?
Ayatollah Arafi, a Meybod native born 1959, a veteran of the Islamic Republic’s clerical and educational institutions. His elevation to interim governance is generally viewed as an effort to ensure ideological unity at a time of existential peril.
Key Roles and Background:
- Guardian Council Member: He is a jurist in the Guardian Council. Director of Al-Mustafa International University: He guided this formidable institution that includes thousands of foreign Shiite students and transmits Iran’s soft power message to world.
- Qom Seminary Leader: Arafi has been an administrative member of the Qom Hawza (seminary), the central theological institution of the regime.
- Friday Prayer Leader: Frequently, from the pulpit, he has taken the position in Tehran and Qom as the prayer leader giving the regime’s official position on regional and international issues.
The Road Ahead: Selecting a Permanent Successor
One 88-member Assembly of Experts an advisory body made up of senior clerics is also scheduled to convene soon and choose a permanent Supreme Leader. Arafi is now serving in an interim capacity but given his deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and his current status in Qom, he would be one of those potential permanent candidates among some like Mojtaba Khamenei (if he survived the strikes). “Arafi is ‘the Second Step’ of the Revolution, the younger generation who are loyal and fiercely loyal to the vision of Khamenei,” said one regional analyst.
