Authorities in Iran have established an interim leadership council to temporarily oversee the country’s highest political and religious authority following the reported killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in coordinated United States and Israeli strikes, officials announced Sunday.

The move comes amid escalating regional tensions and vows from Tehran to retaliate against what it described as a “historic crime.”

Iranian officials said the transitional arrangement is intended to ensure continuity of governance while the process to appoint a new supreme leader begins under constitutional procedures, according to Al Jazeera.

According to Iranian state institutions, Article 111 of the country’s constitution provides for a temporary leadership body whenever the position of supreme leader becomes vacant.

The council will exercise the powers of the office until the Assembly of Experts selects a permanent successor.

The newly announced three-member council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a member of the influential Guardian Council.

The announcement followed days of heightened military confrontation across the Middle East.

Iranian forces have launched retaliatory strikes targeting U.S. and Israeli-linked facilities in several Gulf countries after Khamenei’s death, while Washington has signaled support for political change in Tehran.

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a prominent religious authority, has served on the Guardian Council since 2019.

The body plays a central role in Iran’s political system by reviewing legislation for compliance with Islamic law and supervising elections.

Arafi also holds senior influence within Iran’s religious establishment as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for appointing the supreme leader.

He leads Friday prayers in the holy city of Qom and oversees the country’s extensive seminary education system.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, 71, is considered a reform-minded political figure within Iran’s establishment.

A trained heart surgeon and veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, he won the presidency in 2024 after campaigning on economic reform, diplomatic engagement, and easing certain social restrictions while maintaining loyalty to the Islamic Republic’s governing structure.

In a statement following Khamenei’s death, Pezeshkian said Iran viewed retaliation as its “legitimate duty and right.”

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, who has led Iran’s judiciary since 2021, is widely regarded as a conservative hardliner.

Previously intelligence minister and later prosecutor-general, he has taken a firm stance against domestic unrest.

Earlier this year, amid protests linked to currency instability, he warned authorities would show “no leniency” toward demonstrators he described as rioters.

The leadership transition unfolds as U.S. President Donald Trump publicly urged Iranians to challenge their government following the strikes, remarks that Iranian officials condemned as foreign interference.

Mohseni-Ejei previously accused Washington and its allies of encouraging unrest inside Iran.

The interim council is said to represent an effort by Iran’s political and clerical institutions to project stability during one of the most consequential crises in the Islamic Republic’s history, as both internal succession politics and external military pressures intensify simultaneously.

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