Minister of Intelligence: Discussion of 'Leadership Council' Causes Public Concern

In response to recent statements by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani regarding his views on a 'Leadership Council' in the Islamic Republic, Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, stated on Saturday, December 19, that such discussions 'cause public concern.' According to ISNA, after registering for the 'Assembly of Experts' elections, the Minister emphasized that 'we do not have a Leadership Council in the Constitution' and asserted, 'We should not exacerbate issues that cause public concern.' Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Discernment Council, recently mentioned in an interview with 'ILNA' that a group has been designated to examine and select the future leader of the Islamic Republic, stating that he believed in a council leadership before the removal of the 'Leadership Council' in the constitutional amendment of 1989. Despite this view, he has 'submitted' to the decision of the Assembly of Experts. While most reactions to Hashemi's statements have come from conservatives, the latest response from the Minister of Intelligence in Hassan Rouhani's government criticized discussions about the 'Leadership Council.' Mahmoud Alavi pointed out that 'no institution can think about a Leadership Council because this issue does not exist in the Constitution,' adding, 'If some have raised this issue, they are actually only discussing a historical matter.' He further stated, 'Mentioning a historical discussion does not mean addressing the Leadership Council. We should not cause concern among the people in this regard and affect their motivation. Of course, I respect all those who have made these statements and believe they speak out of concern; we should not exacerbate these issues.' The Minister of Intelligence also remarked, 'The Leadership Council was mentioned in the 1979 Constitution, but this issue was eliminated in the 1989 Constitution. Only with a change to the Constitution regarding the provision of a Leadership Council in this law can this issue be discussed, which is unlikely to happen because changing the Constitution has its own mechanism, meaning that with the leader's order to the President, this revision begins, and currently, these discussions are not even on the table.' Mahmoud Alavi registered for the Assembly of Experts elections on Saturday, having previously been disqualified by the Guardian Council twice during the 2012 parliamentary elections and the mid-term elections while serving as a representative of the people of Tehran in the Assembly of Experts. Alavi, who has a history of representing the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Republic's army, stated in March 2012 in an interview with ILNA that his disqualification by the Guardian Council was based on Article 28, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which refers to 'lack of practical commitment' to Islam and the system. Hassan Firouzabadi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, previously called Hashemi's recent statements about a council leadership a 'new trick' that, according to him, 'opens the way for the enemies' infiltration.'