Interim Leadership Council
شورای انتقالی رهبری (Persian)
Emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran
since 1 March 2026
Status Head of state (de facto) during vacancy of the Supreme Leader
Commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran 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 should be 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.[2] 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][9]

The three Interim Leadership Council members are referred to 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.[10][11][12]

Background

After Iran became an Islamic theocracy in 1979 following the fall of the pro-American authoritarian regime of the Pahlavi royal monarchy in the Iranian Revolution, it adopted an anti-American stance[13] and called for Israel's destruction,[14] allegedly developed a military nuclear program in secret,[15] and supported anti-Western proxies across the Middle East.[16]

US forces clashed with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June 2025 that also saw US strikes aimed at destroying Iran's nuclear facilities.[17] A month and a half before the attack, Iran massacred thousands of civilians[18] during the largest protests since the Islamic Revolution,[19] and US president Donald Trump announced that "help is on the way".[20]

In the following weeks, Iran and the US engaged in indirect nuclear negotiations mediated by Oman. A second round of talks in Geneva made progress but these indirect talks ended without any deal.[21] The attack was preceded by the largest US military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[22]

On 28 February 2026, Israel and the United States launched a coordinated joint attack on various sites in Iran, sparking a major conflict. Codenamed Operation Roaring Lion[g] by Israel[23][24] and Operation Epic Fury by the US Department of Defense,[25][26] it targeted key officials, military commanders and facilities, and was aimed at regime change.[27] The attack included the assassination of the second supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei,[28] after which Ali Larijani proclaimed the establishment of the council, which happened the same day.[29][30]

Article 111

Article 111 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states:[31]

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 situation during the Twelve-Day War

During the Twelve-Day War, Ali Khamenei hid and was uncontactable. During this time Ali Larijani wanted to be seen as the "savior of Iran", but he did not become the de facto leader and was not seen as such; as he became more influential in 2026, he is currently seen as the de facto leader.[32][33][34][35][36] On the other hand, an IRGC military junta was seen as the de facto leadership of Iran.[37]

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, because of this, it was assumed that he would rise to power.[38][39][40] Former president Hassan Rouhani was reportedly also "trying his chance" at replacing Khamenei according to TRT.[41] Because of all this, an inner crisis broke out, but no provisional leadership council was formed, even despite Article 111.[42][43][44]

Assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Main article: Assassination of Ali Khamenei

With the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, there was a short power vacuum between 28 February and 1 March 2026, which ended with the establishment of the Interim Leadership Council.[1]

Members of the Interim Leadership Council

Name Portrait Position Party/Grouping Faction Ref.
  • (born 1954)
  • age 71
 President of Iran
(since 2024)		 Independent Reformist [1][4]
  • (born 1956)
  • age 69
 Chief Justice of Iran
(since 2021)		 Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom Principlist [1][4]
  • (born 1959)
  • age c. 66–67
Member of the Guardian Council
(since 2019)
Member of the Assembly of Experts of the Tehran province
(since 2022)
Head of Seminaries
(since 2016)
Qom's Imam of Friday Prayer
(since 2015)
Independent [4][11]

Masoud Pezeshkian is viewed as a reformist, and took office as the President of the Islamic Republic in 2024.[45] The president is the second-highest-ranking official in Iran, who is responsible for the implementation of the Supreme Leader's decrees, daily administration and economic policy.[45] Pezeshkian campaigned on economic stability, the easing of social restrictions and diplomacy abroad.[45] When the 2025–2026 protests over the rising cost of living began, he initially promised to address the concerns of the Iranian business leaders, however the protests were ultimately crushed brutally by security forces and thousands were killed.[45] Amid the deadly crackdown, the negotiations he attempted to conduct with US President Trump who threatened to intervene on behalf of the protesters also failed.[45]

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, a hardliner and an ultra-conservative Chief Justice, appointed by Khamenei in 2021.[45] Mohsen-Ejei is Iran's top judicial authority and has held various senior government positions in the past.[46] He is known for his harsh sentencing and has been sanctioned by Canada, the US, Switzerland, the European Union and others for Human Rights abuses.[45] According to the Human Rights organization Faces of Crime, as the Minister of Intelligence and Prosecutor General he "has been instrumental in suppressing, torturing, and obtaining forced confessions from protesters against the 2009 presidential election results". He is considered one of the major figures responsible for the violent suppression of the nationwide protests of 2025–2026.[46] Mohsen-Ejei is one of the candidates for the position of the new Supreme Leader.[47]

Alireza Arafi, head of Iranian religious seminaries and a member of the Guardian Council, a legislative body which ensures compliance with Sharia law and vets presidential candidates,[45] he is also a member of the Assembly of Experts, which will appoint the successor to Khamenei.[45] Between 2009 and 2018 Arafi stood at the head of the Almostafa Institute for the "spreading the ideology of Islamic Republic" and "spreading Shia Islam."[48] According to IranWire, Arafi is a "prominent hardline cleric" and is widely considered a "staunch loyalist to the core ideology of the Islamic Republic."[49] Like Mohsen-Ejei, Arafi is also a potential successor to Khamenei as Supreme Leader,[47] however he is seen as being more stringent than Khamenei on cultural issues like the compulsory hijab, and he is an advocate of the full implementation of Shiite Islamic law.[50] After Khamenei's death in the Iran conflict, misinformation circulated on social media platforms that Arafi also died in the strikes on Iran, including an online post by US General Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump;[51][52] in addition, some Israeli media outlets also reported his death, however no government, including the US, Israeli, and Iranian governments, or international media outlet, has announced his death, and they state that he is governing Iran alongside the members of the Interim Leadership Council.[53][54][55][56][57][58]

Analysis

Though the death of Khamenei was long anticipated and was expected to bring regime instability in its wake, the turmoil was predicted to intensify due to the "vastly diminished popularity and perhaps support" for the regime among the Iranian military, as well as the presence of various contenders for this position of power in Iran.[59] The regime was weakened due to the "deep simmering anger" Iranians felt towards their government in the aftermath of the overwhelming violence it used to suppress the protests, killing thousands, as well as the Israeli-US attacks, which Iranian civilians reportedly "eagerly anticipated", and the death of Khamenei, which caused celebrations to break out in Tehran and other locations across Iran.[59]

The appointment of a new successor has been described by Suzanne Maloney, vice president of the Brookings Institution as necessarily "improvisational" and "dictated by the context of the moment", and as experts warn that "a smooth process is nearly impossible", her expectation is that the temporary council will remain permanent.[59] Arafi is a cleric, unlike the other members of the Interim Leadership Council. Because of this, it is suspected that he might become the head of the council.[60]

Many German and Israeli newspapers report that Ali Larijani is the real de facto head of state and that real power is not held by the council;[69] Reportedly, Larijani's de facto leadership already began on 22 February 2026.[70] It is speculated that, if the 2026 Iran conflict lasts, Mohammad Mokhber and Ali Larijani will rule as a duumvirate.[71]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Also during vacancy of the Supreme Leader.
  2. ^ Only appointer of the members.[1]
  3. ^ Persian: شورای انتقالی رهبری, romanized: Šurâ-ye Enteqâli-ye Rahbari. "Shura" is the term for collective decision-making in Islam.
  4. ^ It can also be translated as the Transitional Leadership Council, Temporary Leadership Council, Temporary Council, Transitional Council or Governance Council.[1][2]
  5. ^ The Supreme Leader is the de facto head of state in Iran.[3]
  6. ^ 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, same goes for Ali Larijani.[1][7][8]
  7. ^ Hebrew: מִבְצַע שְׁאָגַת הָאֲרִי, romanized: Mivtsá She'agát Ha'arí

References

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