The position of “supreme leader of Iran” is currently in transition: there is no single, permanent supreme leader in office right now, but a provisional leadership council is exercising the powers of the role until a new leader is chosen.

Quick Scoop: Who’s in charge right now?

  • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei served as supreme leader from 1989 until his death in early 2026.
  • After his death, a Provisional Leadership Council was formed under Article 111 of Iran’s constitution to take over the supreme leader’s duties until a successor is elected.
  • This council (as reported on 1 March 2026) consists of:
    • Masoud Pezeshkian – President of Iran.
* Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i – Head of the judiciary.

* Alireza Arafi – Senior cleric and member of the Guardian Council.

In other words, instead of a single person as supreme leader, these three are collectively performing that role on an interim basis.

What this means in practice

  • The supreme leader is Iran’s head of state and has ultimate authority over the military, judiciary, and key state decisions.
  • After Khamenei’s death, Iran moved to the constitutional backup plan: a temporary council runs the office until the Assembly of Experts selects a new supreme leader.
  • As of now, that election for the next (third) supreme leader has not been completed, and no official successor has been named.

A quick look at the transition

  • Khamenei was only the second supreme leader since the 1979 revolution, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
  • His death after nearly 37 years in power triggered a major political and constitutional moment inside Iran.
  • Several names are discussed in media and expert analysis as potential successors (for example Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Larijani, Alireza Arafi and others), but none has been officially appointed.

Mini FAQ

So, if I have to name “who is the supreme leader of Iran” right now?
Formally, the office is in an interim state: a three-person Provisional Leadership Council (Pezeshkian, Mohseni-Eje’i, Arafi) is collectively exercising the powers of the supreme leader until a single successor is chosen.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.