The Velayat-e Faqih and 'Council Leadership'

Reactions to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's recent statements regarding the future leadership of the Islamic Republic continue. The head of the Expediency Discernment Council recently reiterated that in the absence of a suitable individual, the leadership of the Islamic Republic could become a council. In the latest reactions, Hojjatoleslam Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, stated that there is no such thing as a leadership council in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. According to Iranian news agencies, Alavi described the proposal as causing public concern and as an example of public anxiety. The Minister of Intelligence added that no institution can consider a leadership council, and this issue was completely ruled out in the constitutional amendments of 1989. However, what could the discussion of the possibility of a council leadership for the future of the Islamic Republic mean, especially with the upcoming elections for the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts? Mehdi Mahdavi Azad, a political analyst in Germany, says, 'The discussion about council leadership or oversight over Ayatollah Khamenei has been raised by Mr. Hashemi since 2006. But now, with three months left until the elections, the entry of figures like Mr. Larijani, the sharp response from Mr. Motahari, and the unprecedented statement from Mr. Firouzabadi indicate that the matter is very serious. The differences in the pillars of power are absolutely not superficial or merely for show.' Mahdavi Azad adds, 'I believe Mr. Hashemi, as the main orchestrator of this affair, has three main goals. The first goal is to pressure Ayatollah Khamenei so that ultimately the leadership apparatus of the Islamic Republic and the Guardian Council accept that a large number of reformist candidates are rejected by the Guardian Council and can participate in the elections.' According to Mahdavi Azad, 'The second goal of Mr. Hashemi is to change the composition of the Assembly of Experts to control the overwhelming power of the leader of the Islamic Republic and related institutions, especially the judiciary and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Finally, the goal that Mr. Hashemi has pursued for a decade is the future of the leadership of the Islamic Republic. This Assembly of Experts, which will be formed in March, will be in power until 2023 and is likely to determine the fate of the Islamic Republic, according to most observers. This project, which is referred to by circles close to Mr. Hashemi as 'containing extremism,' is, in my opinion, Mr. Hashemi's largest political operation since 1989.' Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Society of Teachers and Researchers of Qom Seminary stated that the issue of council leadership was raised in the first constitution of the Islamic Republic, and all scholars and authorities, including Khamenei himself, voted for it, and at that time, no one even said that this discussion was against the Velayat-e Faqih. According to ILNA, Ayatollah Hossein Mousavi Tabrizi, referring to the recent positions of Major General Hassan Firouzabadi regarding the Assembly of Experts, stated that the issue of council leadership or individual leadership has nothing to do with being for or against the Velayat-e Faqih. In a broader view, what meanings can the statements for or against the possibility of a council leadership for the future of the Islamic Republic contain? Ali Asghar Haj Seyed Javadi, a political analyst in France, says: 'In my opinion, the leadership has reached its end, not the leader. Leadership means absolute Velayat-e Faqih. Therefore, this has ended after thirty-seven years. The continuous changes over the years and the sanctions have opened these doors out of the necessity of time. Now, these blossoms of the gentlemen's words are the blossoms of the regime's desperation to try to figure out what to do with leadership, meaning with absolute Velayat-e Faqih. Article 57 of the Constitution states that the three governing powers of the country are in the hands of the leader. Article 57 creates absolute Velayat, and Article 110 of the Constitution grants all executive powers and all appointments of the media, judiciary, military and police forces, and elections to the Assembly of Experts, the Constitutional Assembly, and the Guardian Council, all power circles that ultimately lead to Article 57, meaning Mr. Khamenei or the leader.' Ali Asghar Haj Seyed Javadi adds: 'Thus, we, the Iranian people, confirmed our own subjugation in Article 57 (I have written this many times). Now they are thinking about how to bring this tent down so that it does not collapse suddenly because there is no successor. Mr. Rafsanjani's words, I mentioned in a piece a year and a half ago after the nuclear deal, that leadership is heading towards a leadership council. This means that leadership has lost its essence and power, especially during the eight devastating years of Mr. Ahmadinejad, and he can no longer issue a government decree. He cannot.' Ali Asghar Haj Seyed Javadi concludes that 'therefore, they are moving towards a leadership council. Now, Mr. Rafsanjani's words have clashed in this regard. The reactions that have arisen in the conservative factions, meaning the printers and looters of national wealth, have naturally raised their voices.' Hassan Firouzabadi, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, described the talk of council leadership as a new trick. Firouzabadi said on Friday: 'Now that the sword of sedition has been drawn, a new trick called council is being used to break the Velayat-e Faqih.' Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, also stated that there is no law regarding oversight over the actions of the leader of the Islamic Republic. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, spoke again last week about the possibility of a council leadership for the future of the Islamic Republic, which faced severe reactions from the conservative faction of the Islamic Republic.