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

The Islamic Republic’s opaque and fractured governing system following the killing of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei selected radical cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to its interim leadership council on Saturday.

Ben Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute of National Security Studies in Israel, said that, "His name was brought up in the last two or three years. He is not a kind of politician but is part of exporting the revolution from the propaganda side." A foundational pillar...