Hashemi: I Do Not Intend to Run for the Presidency of the Assembly of Experts

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Discernment Council, has stated that he currently does not intend to run for the presidency of the Assembly of Experts, saying that simply being present in this assembly is 'good.' In an interview with Aftab News published on Wednesday, May 18, he discussed the role of the Assembly of Experts, stating, 'I think the fundamental issue of the existence of the Experts is to supervise the performance of the leader, which carries out these two duties. A group provides opinions, and if they see any issues, they go to him, and he responds or makes corrections.' The head of the Expediency Discernment Council added, 'For the leadership, I said thank God Ayatollah Khamenei is there, and for the presidency, I said I do not see a necessity to be present as president in the Experts. When I am there, I can work. There is a presiding board that works. Because the Experts do not have much work that one would think the presidency there is very effective.' Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani further clarified, 'For now, I do not intend to present myself for the presidency.' After the death of Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, he was a candidate for the presidency of the Experts but lost the election to Mohammad Yazdi. In the Assembly of Experts elections on March 7, Akbar Rafsanjani received the most votes in the Tehran electoral district, while Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the fourth Experts, came in seventeenth in this district and failed to enter the Assembly. In addition to Mohammad Yazdi, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, another significant candidate of the principlists critical of Hassan Rouhani's government, also failed to enter the Assembly of Experts. Following Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's victory in the Assembly of Experts elections, there were speculations about his presidency of the Assembly. However, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani emphasized in his interview with Aftab, 'There is no need for one to be president there, and just being in the Experts is good. But if, God forbid, there comes a time when action is needed, if I am present, it does not differ much from being president.' According to Article 107 of the Iranian Constitution, the Assembly of Experts is responsible for appointing the leader. This assembly also has the authority under Article 111 of the Constitution to dismiss the leader if it concludes that the leader is unable to perform his 'legal duties' or does not meet the conditions of leadership.