Iran Experts Assembly hails Rafsanjani

The majority of Iran’s Assembly of Experts have expressed gratitude for the services of former chairman of the body Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani at the end of the ninth session of the assembly.

Over 60 out of 86 members of the assembly have, in a statement, thanked Rafsanjani for his services as the chairman over the past four years.

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, a “highly respected” veteran politician, withdrew his candidacy in favor of Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, a move that left the enemies of the Islamic Revolution stunned and made its friends happy, the statement said.

It also said that factional rivalries and political games have no place in the Assembly of Experts and that the Tuesday election [of the assembly] ruled out the faulty analyses of all those who accused the clerics of seeking power.

Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani was elected the new chairman of the assembly by a 63-vote majority on Tuesday.

Rafsanjani declined to accept the candidacy for the position and instead supported Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani’s candidacy.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts is responsible to oversee the Leader’s performance, and is in a position of authority to either appoint or dismiss the Leader of the Islamic Republic.

Members of the assembly are religious scholars that are directly elected to an eight-year term in a nationwide poll. It holds meetings twice a year to review major national issues, and every other year to appoint a new chairman.

The senior cleric, Rafsanjani, also served as Iran’s president from 1989 to 1997. He was also the parliament (Majlis) speaker for 9 years following the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Rafsanjani presided over the Assembly of Experts since the start of the 4th Assembly (2007-2015). He is now the chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council.