The Assembly of Experts Begins Session to Address Leader's Demands

The fifth session of the fifth term of the Assembly of Experts began on Tuesday, September 4. The spokesperson for this assembly stated that the "main focus" of the meeting is to "pursue the demands" of the Supreme Leader regarding the country's economic situation and resolving livelihood issues. At the start of this session, Ahmad Jannati, the head of the assembly, mentioned that some individuals are "preparing conditions for a direct meeting between Iranian officials and the American side during the upcoming trip to New York," referring to the attendance of Iranian officials at the United Nations General Assembly. Sadeq Larijani and Ali Larijani, heads of the judiciary and legislative branches, are also among the main speakers of this session. Previously, the spokesperson of the Assembly of Experts had stated that Hassan Rouhani, the President of the Islamic Republic, was invited to participate in this session but he declined. Ahmad Khatami: Rouhani rejected the Assembly's invitation to present a report. The Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for overseeing the activities of the Supreme Leader, will focus on "pursuing the demands" of the Supreme Leader during this session. This session is being held on September 4 and 5. According to Ahmad Khatami, on the first day of the session, Ahmad Jannati, the head of the assembly, five of its members, and the head of the judiciary will speak. On the second day, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly is expected to speak about the assembly's actions in "solving economic problems." A closed session will follow. Ahmad Khatami stated without providing specific details that a "statement with the flavor of a resolution" will be issued at the upcoming session, which will address "current issues, the most important of which is the country's economy." According to the principles of the Islamic Republic's constitution, one of the duties of the Assembly of Experts is to "appoint the leader." Other responsibilities of this body include overseeing the leader's activities or "removing" him if he is "unable to perform his legal duties" or "lacks the necessary qualifications." However, this assembly has not yet provided a report on this matter; instead, it and its members have repeatedly addressed political and economic issues or matters related to the nuclear agreement, commenting on social and political issues, the Iranian government, Israel, U.S. presidents, or negotiations with the European Union. On May 12, a statement was released attributed to the Assembly of Experts, announcing that the Supreme Leader "only" accepted the nuclear deal due to the government's insistence. In this statement, Hassan Rouhani was asked to apologize for "not adhering to the red lines drawn" by Ayatollah Khamenei and for "not obtaining necessary guarantees." Although after the criticisms, the secretariat of this assembly changed the title of the statement to "Statement of the Head of the Assembly of Experts." Following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement under Donald Trump, the return of the first round of sanctions in mid-August, and the U.S. government's preparation to revive broader sanctions in November, Iran's economy has faced new tensions, with unprecedented increases in the prices of currency and gold, and protests have emerged in various cities across the country. The protests regarding the economic situation have also taken on a political nature, with strong slogans against the Supreme Leader and other senior officials, against Iran's presence in regional countries and foreign expenditures, and in support of the Pahlavi kings. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, claims that his administration's policies have put the Iranian regime at risk of "collapse," but the Supreme Leader states that "they want to maneuver that we even brought the Islamic Republic of Iran to the negotiating table" and that economic problems are "not external, they are internal."