Resignation of Zahedan Friday Prayer Leader; 'A List for Changing Elderly Friday Prayer Leaders'

The Friday prayer leader of Zahedan announced his resignation and stated that several other elderly Friday prayer leaders are set to be changed based on a list prepared by the office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. According to ISNA news agency, Abbasali Soleimani said in his sermon on February 22 that the Supreme Leader and his office are pursuing 'youthfulness' and a list has been prepared for changing Friday prayer leaders. He added, 'I am the first martyr of this beautiful thought, and others will also attain this martyrdom in the future.' Mr. Soleimani had been appointed as the Friday prayer leader of Zahedan and representative of the Supreme Leader in Sistan and Baluchestan province since 2001. He was also the representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Sunni affairs in the province. In this position, he implemented a plan for 'organizing Sunni schools,' which drew a reaction from Molavi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, who stated, 'Why should the representatives of the Supreme Leader decide for Sunni schools? The decisions for Sunni schools should be made by the scholars of the Sunnis themselves.' Previously, some websites reported that Mr. Soleimani played a role in the dismissal of Ali Osat Hashemi, the reformist governor of Sistan and Baluchestan during Hassan Rouhani's first term. Before the resignation of the Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri, the Friday prayer leader of Ahvaz, also spoke about his resignation due to weakness and old age after controversies surrounding his trip to London. His absence from the February 11 rally in Ahvaz led to rumors about his death until his office announced that he was 'in complete health and currently in England.' His office denied that his trip was for medical treatment, stating that the purpose of the trip was to 'explain the ideals of the revolution to expatriates.' These statements became a source of humor and criticism on social media. Following this, Hamid Baidi Nejad, Iran's ambassador to London, reported that Mr. Jazayeri traveled to London for treatment of his leg. On April 2, Rasoul Flahati Gilani was appointed as the new Friday prayer leader of Rasht, replacing Zain al-Abidin Ghorbani. Last year, a video of Zain al-Abidin Ghorbani, the former Friday prayer leader of Rasht, discussing the economic activities of the Rasht Friday Prayer Headquarters became controversial. He stated, 'For the office and the collective, I have to spend 150 million tomans monthly. Based on this, we built the Adineh Complex. Not a square inch of this complex belongs to us. All of this is under the supervision of the Supreme Leader.' On October 1, Iranian media reported the resignation of Mohammad Naqi Lotfi, the Friday prayer leader of Ilam. Before this resignation, Mr. Lotfi's use of a Prado vehicle drew criticism from some clerics in Ilam. Hadi Lotfi, the son of the Friday prayer leader of Ilam, responded to these criticisms by publishing photos of the vehicles of the Supreme Leader and some other officials and also wrote that Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, travels with a Land Cruiser that is much more expensive than the vehicle used by Mr. Lotfi. Last year, Mohammad Javad Ali Akbari was appointed as the head of the Council for the Policy-Making of Friday Prayer Leaders. The former head, Reza Taghavi, held this position for 17 years since 2000. In 2017, Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi Fard, the former deputy speaker of parliament, was appointed as the new Friday prayer leader of Tehran following the resignation of Ahmad Jannati from the position of Friday prayer leader in Tehran. Reports indicate that Friday prayers are held in over 900 cities in Iran.