Interim Leadership Council
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| Interim Leadership Council | |
|---|---|
| شورای انتقالی رهبری (Persian) | |
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| Status | Head of state (de facto) during vacancy of the Supreme Leader Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces[a] Provisional head of the three branches of the state (the Judiciary, the Legislature, and the Executive)[a] |
| Appointer | Expediency Discernment Council[b] |
| Term length | Until a new Supreme Leader is elected and appointed |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran per Chapter VIII Article 111 |
| Formation | 1 March 2026 |
The Interim Leadership Council[c][d] is the de facto[e] collective head of state of Iran which temporarily handles the duties of the Supreme Leader until a new supreme leader is elected and appointed. Due to this, it is the highest office in Iran when the office of Supreme Leader is vacant.[3] The Interim Leadership Council was established on 1 March 2026 after the assassination of Ali Khamenei, consisting of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi.[1][4][f]
The three Interim Leadership Council members are called by some sources as acting or interim supreme leaders, due to the fact that the Interim Leadership Council took over the duties of the Supreme Leader office, the office of the Supreme Leader however is still vacant.[7][8][9]
Arafi, unlike the other members is the Clerical Representative of the Interim Leadership Council. Due to this, it is rumored that he might become the Head of the Interim Leadership Council.[10]
Background
[edit]Article 111
[edit]Article 111 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states:[11]
Dismissal of Leader
If the Leader becomes incapable of fulfilling his legal duties or loses any of the qualifications referred to in Articles 5 and 109 or it is found that he did not possess some of the qualifications from the beginning, he shall be removed from office. Jurisdiction in this matter is vested in the Experts specified in Article 108.
In the event of the death, resignation or removal of the Leader, the Experts are responsible for designating and appointing a new Leader as soon as possible.
Until the new Leader is introduced, a shura consisting of the President, the Judiciary Chief, and one of the fuqaha of the Shura-ye Negahban [Guardian Council], selected by the Expediency Council, shall provisionally assume all of the duties of the Leader, and if during this period one of them is unable to fulfill the duties for any reason, another person shall be appointed in his place, while maintaining the majority of the fuqaha (in the shura).
This council shall act with respect to the duties referred to in Paragraphs 1, 3, 5, and 10 and Sections (iv), (v), and (vi) of Paragraph 6 of Article 110, upon the approval of three-fourths of the members of the Expediency Council. Whenever the Leader, due to his illness or any other event, temporarily becomes unable to perform the duties of leadership, the council mentioned in this Article shall assume his duties during that time.
Similar case during the Twelve-Day War
[edit]During the Twelve-Day War, Khamenei hid and was uncontactable. During this time Ali Larijani and an IRGC military junta were seen as the "acting de facto leader of Iran".[12][13] Khamenei was also reportedly replaced by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Parliament of Iran, according to the Minister of Islamic Culture and Guidance and Tourism, while according to himself Khamenei was the one personally in charge of war decision making.[14][15][16] Former president Hassan Rouhani was reportedly also "trying his chance" at replacing Khamenei according to TRT.[17] Because of this, an inner crisis broke out, but no provisional leadership council was formed, even despite Article 111.[18][19][20]
Death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
[edit]With the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Interim Leadership Council was established.[1]
Members of the Interim Leadership Council
[edit]| Name | Portrait | Position | Party/Grouping | Faction | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
President of Iran (since 2024) |
Independent | Reformist | [1][4] |
|
|
Chief Justice of Iran (since 2021) |
Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom | Principlist | [1][4] |
|
|
Member of the Guardian Council
(2019-2026) Member of the Assembly of Experts of the Tehran province (2022-2026) Head of Seminaries (2016-2026) Qom's Friday Prayer Imam (2015-2026) |
Independent | [4][8] |
See also
[edit]- Leadership Council of Afghanistan – Advisory council to the Supreme Leader of Afghanistan
- Hamas temporary committee – Palestinian organization's ad hoc governing body
- Supreme Political Council – Houthi executive body
- Supreme Revolutionary Committee – Houthi interim government body in Yemen
- Transitional Presidential Council – Collegial head of state exercising the powers and duties of the president of Haiti
- Transitional Sovereignty Council – Collective head of state of Sudan since 2019
- Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Collective head of state of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Federal Council (Switzerland) – Federal government of Switzerland
- Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party – China's top decision-making body
- Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea – North Korea's top decision-making body
- List of leaders of the Soviet Union § List of troikas
- Collective leadership in the Soviet Union – Form of governance in the USSR
Notes
[edit]- ^ Jump up to: a b Also during vacancy of the Supreme Leader.
- ^ Only appointer of the members.[1]
- ^ Persian: شورای انتقالی رهبری, romanized: Šurâ-ye Enteqâli-ye Rahbari
- ^ Also called the Transitional Leadership Council, Temporary Leadership Council, Temporary Council, Transitional Council or Governance Council
- ^ The Supreme Leader is the de facto head of state in Iran.[2]
- ^ Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly was initially listed as a member of the council[5][6] but was not listed by later sources.
References
[edit]- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Motamedi, Maziar. "Iran forms interim council to oversee transition after Khamenei's killing". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Ministers for Foreign Affairs" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ Reals, Tucker (1 March 2026). "Iran names three men for interim Leadership Council to pick next supreme leader". CBS News. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Multiple sources:
- Sharma, Yashraj. "Who are the council members temporarily in charge of Iran?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- "Alireza Arafi selected as clerical member of Iran's interim Leadership Council". Middle East Monitor. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- "Iran forms interim Leadership Council with Arafi's appointment after Khamenei's killing". TRT World. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- "Iran names Alireza Arafi to interim leadership council after Khamenei killing". Türkiye Today. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- "Alireza Arafi appointed to Iran's Leadership Council, ISNA reports". Reuters. 1 March 2026.
- Marwa, Bahloul (1 March 2026). "Iran forms interim leadership council, as Assembly of Experts moves to name permanent leader". Al 24 News.
- ^ Walsh, Joe; Reals, Tucker. "U.S.-Israel launch another round of strikes on Iran following Khamenei's killing". CBS News. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "U.S. and Israel launch a major attack on Iran, Trump says Supreme Leader Khamenei killed". PBS. 28 February 2026.
- ^ "Why has the US attacked Iran? What we know about the attack and Tehran response". BBC News. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Аятолла Арафи стал врио верховного лидера Ирана". Новая газета Европа (in Russian). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "Senior Iranian Cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi Named As Country's Interim Supreme Leader After Killing Of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei In Joint US-Israeli Airstrikes". News On AIR. 1 March 2026.
- ^ "Arafi to head Iran's Leadership Council after Khamenei killing". Daily Sabah. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ Golkar, Saeid (Spring 2019), "Iran after Khamenei: Prospects for Political change", Middle East Policy, 26 (1): 75–88, doi:10.1111/mepo.12401, archived from the original on 6 December 2020, retrieved 11 December 2020
- ^ Weichert, Brandon J. (2 July 2025). "The Iranian Regime Has Already Fallen. The New Regime Is Worse". The National Interest. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Exclusive: Senior Officials Cannot Reach Khamenei; Ali Larijani Wants to Rescue Iran". IranWire. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ آنلاین, اقتصاد. "افشای نام فرمانده میدان در جنگ ۱۲ روزه / پس از شهادت فرماندهان چه کسی فرماندهی جنگ را بهعهده داشت؟" [Revealing the name of the field commander in the 12-day war / After the martyrdom of the commanders, who took over the command of the war?]. Eghtesad Online (in Persian). Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ Turani, Behrouz (7 November 2025). "Why Tehran insiders think parliament speaker Ghalibaf may be on the rise". Iran International. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Ayatollah Khamenei personally commanded war room". Tehran Times. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ Turani, Behrouz (29 October 2025). "Comeback or last stand? Rouhani in crosshairs of Iran's power struggle". Iran International. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Iran's supreme leader is fading into the shadows". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ Turani, Behrouz (21 October 2025). "Fractured republic: Iran's elites fight it out in Khamenei's twilight". Iran International. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Iran after Khamenei: A look at the men tipped to succeed the Supreme Leader". TRT World. Retrieved 11 December 2025.