Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has been appointed as the acting Supreme Leader of Iran, ISNA reports.

This is coming after Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council elected Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as the jurist member of the Guardian Council in the Leadership Council.

The Leadership Council is responsible for carrying out the duties of the Supreme Leader until the Assembly of Experts selects a successor.

The 67-year-old cleric, who serves on the powerful Guardian Council, was confirmed as part of the three-member body by the Expediency Council.

Arafi will serve alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei on the Interim Council, which is mandated by law to oversee leadership responsibilities during the transition period.