Continued Reactions to the Formation of a 'Second Guardian Council' in Iran

While Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has referred to a 'new innovation' by part of the Expediency Council as the formation of a 'Second Guardian Council', the disputes in Iran over the powers of the 'High Supervisory Board of the Council' continue. Motahari criticized this 'new innovation in the legislative process' in an interview with IRNA, stating that with the entry of the High Supervisory Board, 'we have two Guardian Councils, which is a clear violation of the Constitution.' However, several current and former members of the Expediency Council have defended the expansion of its powers, while 22 members of parliament have also labeled Ali Larijani's recent letter to the Council as 'illegal.' About two weeks ago, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, disregarded the opinion of the High Supervisory Board and sent two recent parliamentary resolutions directly to the 'Council's floor.' In a letter published on Friday, October 26, in Iranian media, the 22 members of parliament called Larijani's letter a 'novelty' that, in addition to 'damaging the credibility of the parliament,' 'replaces individual decisions with collective decisions of the representatives of the nation.' According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, parliamentary resolutions must be approved by the Guardian Council, but in the event of a disagreement between these two bodies, the Expediency Council acts as the final arbiter. However, for several years now, there has been a change in this process, and a 15-member group in the Expediency Council, known as the 'High Supervisory Board,' reviews parliamentary resolutions in light of the 'general policies of the system.' Although the final order to form this board was issued by Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in March 2014, this is the first time this 15-member group has directly commented on parliamentary resolutions. The disputed issue pertains to two bills out of four that President Hassan Rouhani's government sent to the parliament to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The parliament approved both the 'Amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Law' and the 'Palermo' bill and sent them to the Guardian Council, which about two weeks ago announced that the objections to these two resolutions had been resolved, but due to 'the opinions of the Council,' these two resolutions would be returned to the parliament. Nevertheless, Ali Larijani, referring to the 'failure to meet the Guardian Council's opinion' and 'the insistence of the parliament,' sent these two resolutions to the Expediency Council. Larijani's emphasis on 'the interests of the system' and his failure to mention 'general policies' continued the discussions that had been raised in Iranian media in recent weeks. Some members of parliament, including the 22 who wrote a letter criticizing Larijani's action, have defended the role of the Supervisory Board, while some representatives and officials of Hassan Rouhani's government have warned against the illegalization of this board. Mohammad Hashemi, a former member of the Expediency Council, which was formed shortly after the death of his brother, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, defended this board and told Mehr News Agency that the High Supervisory Board 'does not conflict with other institutions.' Mostafa Mir-Salim, a current member of the Council, also strongly defended this board in an interview with ISNA, deeming doubts about the limitation of the parliament's independence as unfounded. Officials from Hassan Rouhani's government, including his legal and parliamentary deputies, the government spokesman, and the president's advisor, have strongly opposed the entry of the Council's Supervisory Board into the legislative arena. While disputes over the powers of the Supervisory Board continue, one member of parliament has stated that the status of this board is 'higher than the Council.' Mohammad Dehghan, a member of parliament and one of the 22 signatories of the letter criticizing Larijani, attributed this board to Ayatollah Khamenei, stating: 'The leader's command is not supposed to remain unaddressed due to the caution of friends.' The members of the Supervisory Board consist of the president and secretary of the Council, along with 13 others, including Ebrahim Raisi, Mostafa Mir-Salim, Ghorbanali Darinajafabadi, Ahmad Tavakoli, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Morteza Nabavi, Hossein Mofazal, Ahmad Vahidi, Majid Ansari, Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moqaddam, Davood Danesh-Jafari, Ali Aghamohammadi, and Mohammad Javad Iravani.