Iran formed a leadership council to administer the country in the wake of the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The country’s constitution stipulates that if the supreme leader is no longer in power, a provisional leadership council comprising the president, the head of the judiciary, and a senior cleric from the powerful Guardian Council should assume his responsibilities until a new leader is elected by the 88-member Assembly of Experts.
The council includes Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, 67, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the head of judiciary.
Arafi is an established cleric with a track record in government institutions who was also a confidant of Khamenei. He currently serves as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts and has been a member of the powerful Guardian Council, which vets election candidates and laws passed by parliament.