Following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi has been appointed as the interim Supreme Leader, according to international media reports.
Iranian authorities have announced the formation of a temporary leadership council that will assume the duties of the Supreme Leader until a permanent successor is selected. The council includes Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei. Arafi has been designated as the jurist member (faqih) of the interim leadership council.
The interim council will oversee the country’s administrative affairs and manage state responsibilities until a new Supreme Leader is formally chosen.
Earlier Iranian state media confirmed that Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in joint US and Israeli attack. Reports state that his son and daughter-in-law were also killed in the strike.
According to Iranian media, several senior officials were killed in the attack, including close adviser Ali Shamkhani, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Mohammad Pakpour, and IRGC coordinator Mohammad Shirazi, who was reportedly killed in a U.S. strike. Iran’s Army Chief Abdolrahim Mousavi has also been confirmed dead, along with Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh in Israeli attacks.
Authorities have declared 40 days of national mourning across the country. Government offices will remain closed for seven days, national flags will fly at half-mast, and condolence gatherings will be held in various cities.
In the capital Tehran, large crowds gathered in the streets, holding a mourning assembly at Enghelab Square. In Mashhad, a black flag has been raised over the shrine of Imam Reza as a symbol of mourning.
