Alireza Arafi in His Own Words

A day after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed during an attack by Israel and the United States on February 28, 2026, Alireza Arafi was appointed as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s interim leader as a member of the Leadership Council, which is tasked with fulfilling the supreme leader’s role until the Assembly of Experts elects a new leader.

A review of Arafi’s public statements, especially open letters reproduced on the Guardian Council website, shows that his political messaging is framed in opposition to the “Zionist regime” and support for the Iranian regime’s terrorist proxies in the “Axis of Resistance.” Central to Arafi’s narrative framing is dehumanizing metaphors and eliminationist language toward Israel, echoing other leaders of the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979.

Message predicting Israel’s “decline and destruction”

On October 19, 2024, in a message printed by the Shafaqna Qom news agency, Arafi said “the world will soon witness the decline and destruction of… Israel.”

Speech threatening “burning” Zionists

On April 14, 2024, in a speech at a gathering in Qom’s Feyziyeh Seminary, Arafi threatened Israel that “the volcano of fury… will burn you in the flames.”

Open letter on “Al‑Aqsa Flood” using “Zionist wolves” and “cancerous tumor” language

On October 21, 2023, in an open letter about Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Arafi referred to the incident (“Al-Aqsa Flood”) as “the humiliating defeat of the malicious and murderous Zionist regime,” and referring to Israel as “Zionist wolves.” Arafi also echoed eliminationist language of other Iranian regime officials in saying “the uprooting/removal of the cancerous tumor of Israel.”

Until “Israel is Erased”

In 2019, during a sermon, Arafi’s remark, “when the arrogant people of the world are defeated and Israel is erased,” elicited the public response, “Death to America ... Death to Israel.” 

Friday sermon portraying Israel as a “Western military garrison”

On June 20, 2025, in a Friday sermon in Qom, Arafi said, “Israel is the West’s military garrison,” replicating eliminationist language that denies the Jewish state’s connection to the land of Israel and portraying the country as a colonialist project of the West, which echoes Soviet propaganda of the Cold War.

Overall, Arafi’s use of dehumanizing metaphors about Jews (“wolves” and “cancerous tumor”) and eliminationist language about Israel (“removal,” “destruction,” “burning”) echoes other senior Iranian regime officials who have been obsessed with the genocidal destruction of the Jewish state.