Mohammad Yazdi Elected as Chairman of the Assembly of Experts

On the first day of the 17th Assembly of Experts of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi was elected as the chairman of this assembly on Tuesday, March 10, competing against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, receiving 47 votes out of a total of 73 votes from the members of this assembly. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), in this election, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Yazdi, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, and Mohammad Momen were nominated, among whom Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi withdrew due to "the number of candidates," and because the votes did not reach a quorum, the election went to a second round. The Tasnim News Agency also reported that in the first round, Mohammad Yazdi received 35 votes, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 25 votes, and Mohammad Momen 13 votes. This news agency announced that in the second round, Mohammad Yazdi received 47 votes, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani received 24 votes, and there were 3 invalid votes. Meanwhile, the Fars News Agency reported that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was unable to secure the chairmanship of the Assembly of Experts with 27 votes. Mohammad Yazdi, who is currently the head of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary and a member of the Guardian Council, served as the head of the Judiciary from 1989 to 1999. After Mohammad Khatami came to power on June 18, 1997, the relationship between the Judiciary and the Iranian government faced challenges, including the arrest of Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the former mayor of Tehran, in 1998, which caused protests from the Iranian government. Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi has also criticized the government's performance in various areas several times since Hassan Rouhani came to power. For instance, as the head of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, he stated this July that several confidential and highly confidential warnings had been given to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran. He also mentioned in June during a television program about his heated dialogue with Ali Younesi, the special assistant to the President of Iran for ethnic and religious minorities. Meanwhile, Mr. Younesi also mentioned in August that Ayatollah Yazdi, the head of this organization, was angry with his remarks during his presence in the cultural commission of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary. In recent weeks, Yazdi has criticized the performance of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in the field of music, asking Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture, to remind the art deputy of this ministry that music is forbidden in Islam. Over the years, Yazdi has also strongly defended the positions of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. In July 2011, he stated that "the Guardian Jurist is appointed by the Imam of the Time, and his orders have also been determined, and it has been said that you should listen to the words of my guardian." Yazdi has also repeatedly criticized the positions of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani over the years. For example, in 2009, referring to Hashemi Rafsanjani's last Friday prayers sermons, he said: "Mr. Hashemi, when you lead Friday prayers, by saying that there is doubt in the elections, you ruin everything." In the meantime, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stated in an interview with Shargh newspaper, published on Tuesday morning before the Assembly of Experts' election, that "if there is a suitable person, what is the necessity for me to go for the chairmanship of the Experts?" He noted that the moment of appointing the Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts is crucial, saying, "For that crucial moment, it is not necessary for me to be the president; it is enough to be a member of the Experts. A person in the Experts can speak and give their opinion, and if I want, I will be influential too." The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported on Saturday, March 16, about a letter from a "considerable number" of members of the Assembly of Experts to Hashemi Rafsanjani, urging him to accept the chairmanship of this assembly. In his interview with Shargh newspaper, Hashemi stated that the signatories of this letter claim to be the majority of the Assembly of Experts, "but I did not investigate." A source close to Hashemi Rafsanjani previously stated in an interview with the Jomhouri Islami newspaper that he said, "If some individuals whom I do not consider suitable for the chairmanship of the Experts intend to run, I will announce my readiness to run for the chairmanship of this assembly." Voting for the election of the chairman and members of the board of the Assembly of Experts is held every two years, during which these individuals are elected by the votes of the members.