Iran Appoints Ayatollah Arafi as Interim Supreme Leader

Following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian media announced that Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed as the country’s interim Supreme Leader, marking a critical transition in Tehran’s political-religious hierarchy.

Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?

Born in 1959 in Maybod, Yazd province, Arafi is a senior Shia cleric and a prominent figure within Iran’s religious establishment. He is currently:

• Deputy of the Assembly of Experts and sitting member of the Guardian Council.
• Director of Iran’s Islamic Seminary system, overseeing religious education nationwide.
• Former head of Al-Mustafa International University, training clerics domestically and abroad.

Arafi began his classical religious education in Iran and moved to Qom in 1970, where he completed his studies in philosophy, ethics, and theology. Fluent in Arabic and English, he is known for promoting technological adaptation, including the use of artificial intelligence, to spread Iran’s ideological message internationally.