Iran has been thrown into fresh chaos after unverified reports claimed interim Supreme Leader Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was killed in an airstrike just hours after getting the job.
The 67-year-old cleric was named to a temporary three-person leadership council on Sunday following the death of longtime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli strikes. But social media posts and some Israeli news reports now suggest Arafi has also been taken out.
Iranian state media has not confirmed the claim. Major international news agencies are treating it as unverified rumour.
Arafi was appointed alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei to form an emergency council steering the country. The trio took power after Khamenei was killed on Saturday during Operation Epic Fury.
The strikes have already wiped out Iran’s top military brass. Dead include IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, and Defense Council secretary Ali Shamkhani.
If Arafi’s death is confirmed, Iran’s leadership crisis deepens massively. The constitution requires the Assembly of Experts to pick a new Supreme Leader, but that 88-member body cannot meet safely while US and Israeli bombs are falling.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted a new leader could be named “in a day or two.” That looks increasingly optimistic.
Online, the claim has gone viral. A tweet from account Pubity showing footage of explosions was shared widely with the caption: “Newly appointed interim Supreme Leader Ayatollah Arafi has reportedly been killed in an airstrike, just hours after taking the role.”
But experts urge caution. Similar confusion surrounded Khamenei’s death initially, with Israeli authorities confirming it before Iranian officials spoke.
The leadership vacuum comes as Iran fires hundreds of missiles at Israel and US bases across the Gulf. Three American troops are already confirmed dead in Kuwait.
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