Firebrand anti-American cleric Alireza Arafi seen as contender to replace Iran’s Khamenei

The Islamic Republic’s opaque and fractured governing strategy pursuing the sidesplitting of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei selected extremist cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to its interim enactment assembly connected Saturday.

Ben Sabti, an Iran adept astatine the Institute of National Security Studies successful Israel, said that, "His sanction was brought up successful the past 2 oregon 3 years. He is not a benignant of person but is portion of exporting the gyration from the propaganda side." A foundational pillar of the commencement of the 1979 Islamic Republic was to export its convulsive Shiite ideology and foster extremist Islamist revolutions crossed the globe.

"He's been marinating successful Khomeinist ideology his full career. Khomeinism is simply a menace to U.S. interests," Jason Brodsky, argumentation manager of United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital.

The laminitis of the Islamic Republic of Iran successful 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's "Death to America" pledge is simply a halfway diagnostic of Khomeinism, according to experts.

Women locomotion past electoral posters of Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a campaigner for the upcoming Assembly of Experts elections successful downtown Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

According to a UANI report, Arafi has agelong been agitating against the U.S. and Israel. "America volition instrumentality its privation for Iran to wantonness accumulation of subject hardware to the grave," helium is quoted arsenic saying, and successful a 2019 Friday Prayer sermon helium announced, "We volition enactment with our imam and person to the end, erstwhile we humiliate [global] arrogance. Together with the Sayyed of the resistance, we say: Oh large person of the satellite of Islam, we volition beryllium with you until the end, erstwhile the arrogant radical successful the satellite are defeated, and Israel is erased."

Brodsky continued, "The information that Iran’s strategy elevated Alireza Arafi to rank connected the interim enactment assembly is simply a awesome that helium could beryllium a starring campaigner to regenerate Ali Khamenei arsenic ultimate leader. 

Arafi is besides being watched successful Washington. In an interrogation with Fox News Digital connected Sunday, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., president of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described Arafi arsenic ""a precise hard-line cleric."

Horrific allegations look from Iran's detained protesters arsenic authorities claims protestation 'sedition is over' (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images/NCRI)

He noted that, "Arafi has been promoted done the ranks — heading Iran’s Seminary, starring Al-Mustafa University, and serving arsenic a subordinate of the Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts. Additionally, helium has been Friday Prayer Leader of Qom, which is the halfway of the Iranian clergy. This provides him with religious, acquisition and authorities acquisition to regenerate Khamenei arsenic ultimate leader."

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According to UANI, Arafi promised "death" to protesters who sound implicit the turbans of Iranian Islamic clerics. "Those who onslaught the turbans of the clergy should cognize that the turban volition go their shroud," Arafi said.

Brodsky added that, "Arafi helped marque Al-Mustafa University into a grooming crushed and recruiting halfway for the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]. Al-Mustafa University was aboriginal sanctioned by the U.S. authorities nether counterterrorism authorities. A weakness successful his candidacy to regenerate Khamenei is that helium has ne'er been a halfway subordinate of the military-security constitution successful Iran and has ne'er led a subdivision of the Islamic Republic’s authorities apparatus.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, the caput of the judiciary and Alireza Arafi, (right) lawman president of the Assembly of Experts, be the gathering of the interim enactment assembly of Iran successful an chartless location, amid the U.S.-Israel struggle with Iran, successful Iran, March 1, 2026.    (Handout via Reuters)

"He is besides not a Sayyid. [sign of precocious respect for radical of lineage from the Islamic prophet Muhammad successful the Shiite tradition.] But his serving connected an interim enactment assembly volition exposure him to overseas argumentation and information issues to a greater extent, and presumption him arsenic a formidable contender. Alireza Arafi is an indoctrinated follower of Khomeinism and spearheaded an effort to further Islamize Iran’s assemblage and seminary system," helium said.

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According to Iran Wire, an autarkic Iranian diaspora quality outlet, "Alireza Arafi is simply a salient hardline cleric, a subordinate of the Guardian Council and the caput of Iran’s seminaries, positions that spot him astatine the halfway of the country’s spiritual establishment. His enactment matters due to the fact that the 3rd subordinate of the Temporary Leadership Council indispensable beryllium a theologian chosen by the Expediency Discernment Council — and Arafi is wide seen arsenic a staunch loyalist to the halfway ideology of the Islamic Republic."

On March 1, 2026, successful Sana'a, Yemen. pro-Iran protesters brandish billboards depicting the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, flags of Yemen and Iran, weapons, and chant slogans astatine a rally held to condemn the U.S.-Israel aerial attacks connected Iran and the sidesplitting of Khamenei and respective subject officials. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Mardo Soghom, a seasoned writer and Iran expert, told Fox News Digital, "What I tin accidental astatine this constituent is that determination is nary unified authorities with capable power implicit the country. The overseas curate admits the IRGC is connected its own. Arafi would ne'er person the authorization oregon the power Khamenei had. It is simply a compromise campaigner whom the IRGC tin power and is not a menace to 2 factions."

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Mariam Memarsadeghi, Senior Fellow astatine Macdonald-Laurier Institute and laminitis and manager of the Cyrus Forum for Iran’s Future, told Fox News Digital,"The authorities oregon what remains of it is nary antithetic from a violent group. Now that the U.S. and Israel are bombing the U.S. and Israel ,every person the panic radical chooses volition beryllium rightly eliminated. The Iranian radical are elated. All decent quality beings who judge successful state should beryllium elated."

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