Iran forms interim leadership council, as Assembly of Experts moves to name permanent leader
Iran announced on Sunday the formation of a three-member council to assume leadership duties and govern the country as outlined in the constitution following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was appointed to the temporary council, whose other two members are President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
Mohsen Dehnavi, spokesperson for Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, said in a post on X that the council selected Arafi as its clerical representative to ensure continuity of leadership while the Assembly of Experts proceeds with selecting a permanent leader “as soon as possible.”
According to Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, the transitional council will govern the country until the 88-member Assembly of Experts chooses a new supreme leader after almost 37 years of rule by Khamenei.
The Assembly of Experts consists entirely of Shiite clerics who are popularly elected every eight years and whose candidacies are approved by the Guardian Council, Iran’s constitutional watchdog.
In Iran, the supreme leader is at the heart of the country’s complex power-sharing Shiite theocracy and has final say over all matters of state. He also serves as the commander-in-chief of the country’s military and the Revolutionary Guard.
