Possibility of 'Removing Rafsanjani's Name' from the Election List of the Clergy Society

One day after the publication of the list supported by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for the Assembly of Experts elections and the presence of the Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association in this list, a member of this association stated that Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's name is 'almost heading towards removal' from this group. According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Hossein Ebrahimi, this member of the Combatant Clergy Association, announced on Saturday, February 13, that the list for the Tehran province is 'almost finalized and in the final stages of compilation.' According to Mr. Ebrahimi, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, is 'currently' not on the list of the Combatant Clergy Association and is 'almost heading towards removal.' These remarks come after Mohammad Reza Misbahian, the spokesperson for this group, announced on Sunday, February 6, that the Combatant Clergy Association had 'agreed' to include Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in their list for the Assembly of Experts elections, but the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary 'opposes this.' According to Mr. Misbahian, prior to the disagreement between these two groups regarding support for Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, it was intended for both groups to have a joint list nationwide. The Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary has not included Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's name in their supported list for the Assembly of Experts elections for the first time since the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Meanwhile, in the list supported by Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani for the Assembly of Experts elections, there is no mention of Ahmad Jannati, Mohammad Yazdi, and Mohammad Reza Modarresi Yazdi, three members of the Guardian Council who are included in the list of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary. In this list, which was published on Friday, the name of Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, the Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association, is present. Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, on Tuesday, February 1, in protest against the disqualification of Hassan Khomeini in the Assembly of Experts elections, addressed the members of the Guardian Council, saying: 'Where did you get your qualifications from? Who gave you permission to sit in one place and judge for the government, parliament, and other places and take control of powers?' These remarks led to severe criticism from several Friday prayer leaders, and Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson and first deputy of the judiciary, also called these remarks an example of 'disturbing public opinion, insult, and incitement to illegal actions' and stated that 'certainly, a case will be formed for these individuals, and actions will be taken in due time.' Hassan Khomeini has not yet reacted to his disqualification again, but he previously stated that he doubts his objection to the Guardian Council's decision will lead to any change in this matter. Meanwhile, Mohammad Khatami, the former President of Iran, in a note on his personal website, protested against the disqualification of Hassan Khomeini and 'a number of other young jurists' as well as the widespread disqualification of candidates for the Assembly elections. He simultaneously urged the people to go to the polls to 'send more deserving individuals to both assemblies' and 'to the extent possible, to democratically prevent the entry of those who are further from the ideals and demands of the majority.' More than 800 individuals registered to run in this round of the Assembly of Experts elections, but the Guardian Council has only approved 161 of them. Many of those disqualified are clerics affiliated with reformists and the government of Hassan Rouhani, such as Majid Ansari, the parliamentary deputy of the president, Rasul Montajebnia, the deputy of the National Trust Party, and Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dashtgheib, a current member of the Assembly of Experts.