Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, 66, took over this Sunday (1st) as head of the interim council that now governs Iran. He will work alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of the Judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
Arafi works as a Shiite cleric and jurist. Shiites are the largest branch of Islam and believe that leadership of the Muslim world, after the death of Muhammad, belongs to his descendants.
The ayatollah presides over the Islamic Seminaries Management Center, is a member of the Council of Guardians and holds the second vice-presidency of the Assembly of Experts, the body that elects the supreme leader.
Arafi’s entire career was shaped by appointments made by supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The ayatollah comes from a clerical family from the historic city of Meybod in Yazd province in central Iran.
Alireza Arafi’s family was close to the leader of the founder of the Islamic Republic
Arafi’s family converted to Islam in the 19th century. Arafi’s father, Ayatollah Mohammad Ibrahim Arafi, is generally portrayed in Iranian state media as being close to the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
When the Iranian Revolution occurred in 1979, Arafi was 21 years old and was not part of the so-called “first generation of revolutionaries”. He gained greater political prominence after the rise of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to the post of supreme leader in 1989.
Alireza Arafi’s career timeline
- 1992 – Takes the lead in Friday prayer in his hometown of Meybod.
- 2008 a 2018 – Presides over Al-Mustafa International University.
- 2015 – Starts leading the Friday prayer in the city of Qom.
- 2016 – Takes charge of all religious seminaries in the country.
- 2019 – Receives appointment to the Council of Guardians, the highest control body of the Islamic Republic, made up of 12 members and with the power to veto government policies and political candidacies
Academic, Arafi proposed “community of religions” to Pope Francis
In 2020, Arafi sent a letter to Pope Francis in which he spoke on behalf of the Shia academic community. The text thanked the attention given to the most vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic.
At the time rector of the University of Qom, the ayatollah defended the strengthening of cooperation with Catholic institutions. He proposed the exchange of experiences to “create a community of religions at the service of humanity”. Two years later, he met the pontiff in Vatican City.
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi condemned US actions in Gaza
On February 11, 2025, during celebrations marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Arafi led prayers at a national ceremony. He stated that the revolution went beyond the political field. According to the Ayatollah, the movement redefined the intellectual and cultural basis of the Muslim Ummah in Iran.
Arafi declared that the Islamic Revolution resulted from popular engagement. He highlighted that citizens from all social classes sacrificed individual and collective interests in the name of the supremacy of Islam.
The ayatollah also criticized the military actions of the United States and Israel in Gaza. He said the offensives exposed “the true nature of the imperialist system.” Arafi said that, without interruption, the attacks could spread destruction similar to that seen in Gaza to other regions.
With information from EFE
