Sunday, 01/03/2026   
   Beirut 18:54

Ayatollah Arafi Selected to Iran’s Guardian Council after Martyrdom of Imam Khamenei

Prominent Iran cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi in an image from archive.

Iranian authorities have selected Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a clerical member of the Guardian Council, to serve on Iran’s interim Leadership Council, according to an official statement on Sunday.

Mohsen Dehnavi, spokesperson for Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, said in a post on X platform that the appointment was made in accordance with Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution.

“In line with Article 111 of the Constitution, which requires the inclusion of a jurist from the Guardian Council in the Interim Leadership Council, the Expediency Discernment Council has appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to the Council,” Dehnavi stated.

He explained that the measure “ensures the uninterrupted continuity of leadership while the Assembly of Experts proceeds to elect a permanent leader at the earliest opportunity.”

According to the Iranian constitution, Ayatollah Arafi became part of the interim leadership council, which will perform the duties of the head of state until a successor is elected.

The council also included President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.

The Islamic Republic announced on Sunday martyrdom of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli aggression on the capital, Tehran, on Saturday. Imam Khamenei led Iran and the Muslim Ummah for 37 years since the demise of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini in 1989.

Source: Al-Manar English Website