Senior Shia cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed to serve as the interim Supreme Leader of Iran following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a precision strike by the United States (US) and Israel, reported Iranian state media on Sunday.
67-year-old Arafi is a member of the of the Guardian Council. He was appointed as the jurist member of the temporary leadership council that will carry out the responsibility of Iranian Supreme Leader's duties until a successor to Khamenei is appointed. The interim council also includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i and a cleric from the Guardian Council.
Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?
Arafi was born in 1959 in Meybod, which is Iran's Yazd Province. Like Khamenei, he also hold the title of Ayatollah which indicates he is a mujtahid (a senior Islamic scholar). Along with the Guardian Council, he is also a member of the Assembly of Experts. He had also served as the second deputy chairperson of the Assembly of Experts.
Before this, he had also served as the chairperson of the Al-Mustafa International University. Reportedly Arafi is fluent in both Arabic and English, and has also pushed for the need to adapt to artificial intelligence (AI) in Iran. The 67-year-old has also studied mathematics and philosophy.
His roots could be traced to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, as his father Mohammad Ibrahim al-Arafi was considered to be a close friend to Iran's first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. Thus, many analysts had always considered Arafi was most likely to succeed Khamenei after his death.
Khamenei's killing
Coming to Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader was killed in a precision strike by the US and Israel on Saturday, a move that has sparked tensions in the entire Gulf. Iran is now targeting US and Israel bases in the region, and has already launched missiles on to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and even the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
However, most of the Gulf countries have criticised Iran's retaliation and called for a de-escalation. US President Donald Trump has also warned Iran not to escalate things further, saying that Tehran could be struck more decisively again. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for Iranians to rise up against Khamenei's regime and take control of the government.
