In Iran, a triumvirate has come together within a temporary directorate council since Sunday, March 1, 2026, to ensure interim leadership until the election of a new supreme leader, following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday by American-Israeli airstrikes. There is currently no talk of reforming the regime. Another leader playing a major role in this process is Ali Larijani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council.
Massoud Pezeshkian, 71 years old, was elected president in July 2024. This cardiac surgeon turned politician is seen as a reformer. Born in 1954 in Mahabad, in the province of West Azerbaijan (northwest Iran), Massoud Pezeshkian is the son of an Iranian father of Turkish origin and a Kurdish mother.
This technocrat led the government during two of the most turbulent periods in the history of the Islamic Republic, including the twelve-day war in 2025 triggered by an Israeli attack, joined by the United States, and the massive protests in early January.
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, a 69-year-old Shiite cleric, was born in the village of Ejeh, in the province of Isfahan, central Iran. A prominent figure in the judicial and security apparatus of the Islamic Republic, he was appointed Chief Justice in 2021 by Ali Khamenei.
Alireza Arafi, 65 years old, is the second vice president of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for appointing and supervising the supreme leader, and a member of the Guardian Council of the Revolution. He also heads the center for managing Shiite seminaries in the country.
Ali Larijani, 68 years old, currently heads the Supreme National Security Council, the highest security body in Iran. Born in Najaf, Iraq, in 1957, he is the son of a prominent Shiite figure close to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. A former Revolutionary Guards combatant during the Iran-Iraq war, he was the chief negotiator on nuclear issues with London, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow between 2005 and 2007.
The Revolutionary Guards Corps was formed in 1979 as an “ideological army,” tasked with serving the Shiite Islamist ideology of the Islamic Revolution, both domestically and internationally. Unlike the regular army, whose main objective is to protect Iran’s territorial integrity, the main mission of the Revolutionary Guards Corps is to safeguard the interests of the Shiite Islamist theocratic system in Iran.
[Context: The article discusses the current political situation in Iran following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the formation of a temporary leadership council.]
[Fact Check: Massoud Pezeshkian, Ali Larijani, and Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are prominent figures in Iranian politics.]
