Is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi dead? Did US airstrikes kill Iran’s interim Supreme Leader after succeeding Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?

Earlier, social media posts and some Israeli news reports claimed that Iran’s interim Supreme Leader Alireza Arafi was killed in an airstrike.

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Monday said that the American and Israeli airstrike that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday also killed the men the United States had identified as his most likely successors. US President Donald Trump made these claims in a phone interview with ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl,

“The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates,” Trump said, as per Karl on X, “It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead.”

It is important to note that Trump had earlier told Karl that the US had a good idea of what Iran’s new leadership would look like. As the conversation progressed, he reversed his position, stating that the strike had in fact eliminated those very individuals.

Notably, Iran’s judiciary and state media had confirmed that Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were among those killed in the joint US-Israel airstrikes on Khamenei’s compound in central Tehran.

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Is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi dead?

Earlier, social media posts and some Israeli news reports claimed that Iran’s interim Supreme Leader Alireza Arafi was killed in an airstrike. However, these claims have not been confirmed by Iranian state media or major international news agencies.

Similar to the initial confusion surrounding Khamenei’s assassination—first confirmed by Israeli authorities and later acknowledged by Iranian officials—the situation regarding Arafi’s alleged death remains unclear.

Who is Ayatollah Alireza Arafi?

Iran appointed Alireza Arafi as its interim Supreme Leader following the death of Ali Khamenei
Arafi is a senior cleric and long-time insider within Iran’s religious and political establishment,
He assumed the role after Khamenei, who had served as Supreme Leader from 1989 until February 28, 2026.
Ayatollah Arafi was selected as Supreme Leader on the same day as Khamenei’s assassination.
As of March 2, 2026, unverified reports allege that he has also been killed in recent airstrikes.
The ongoing conflict in West Asia has sent shockwaves across the globe, resulting in significant loss of life and widespread destruction.