Ayatollah Alireza Arafi Named Iran's Interim Supreme Leader

• Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed to Iran's interim leadership council following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
• The interim council, also including the president and head of the judiciary, will govern until a permanent leader is elected by the Assembly of Experts.
• Arafi is a senior cleric, deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, and a member of the Guardian Council.
• He also heads Iran's seminary system and has a long history of religious education.
• Arafi's rise in the Islamic Republic's establishment was gradual, with his profile growing significantly after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became Supreme Leader in 1989.