Which Factions Does Mohammad Yazdi Represent in the Assembly of Experts?

The elections to determine the new president of the Assembly of Experts were held on Tuesday in two rounds. In the first round of voting, Mohammad Yazdi, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, and Mohammad Momen participated as candidates for the presidency of the Assembly of Experts, with reports indicating that Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi withdrew due to the number of candidates. According to Tasnim News Agency, in the first round, Mohammad Yazdi received 35 votes, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani received 25 votes, and Mohammad Momen received 13 votes. Due to not reaching the required quorum, the elections went to a second round, where Mohammad Yazdi was elected president of the Assembly with 47 votes out of 73, while Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani received 24 votes. Farrokh Negahdar and Ali-Asghar Ramadanpour discuss Mohammad Yazdi's presidency on Radio Farda. Farrokh Negahdar, an analyst on Iranian issues residing in London, comments on the election results of the Assembly of Experts, stating: 'The expectation that the members of the Assembly of Experts and the leadership of the system had to create a proper unity in the Assembly was not met. The election of Mr. Yazdi primarily indicates that there is a serious rift at the top of the system regarding the overall direction of the country, and the steadfastness of the hardline faction regarding the challenges facing our country is very serious. This is the first analysis that should be considered regarding the elections on Tuesday.' He adds: 'The elections on Tuesday, before indicating that the hardline faction has gained the upper hand, signify the beginning of a challenge; that is, the reformist and moderate tendencies are attempting to bring the Assembly of Experts out of obscurity. We should note that there is about a year until the next Assembly of Experts elections, and this election has drawn public attention to the importance of the Assembly of Experts more than ever.' Ali-Asghar Ramadanpour, another analyst and journalist residing in London, also comments on the Assembly of Experts elections: 'Mr. Yazdi was elected under circumstances where, after his controversial presidency over the judiciary, Mr. Shahroudi even referred to it as a 'ruin' when he took over. Mr. Yazdi had largely been absent from the political scene in Iran for a long time, but in recent months, he has returned to the political arena by getting closer to some of the hardline factions in Iran. His latest statement emphasized the prohibition of music, which is explicitly contrary to Mr. Khomeini's views and somewhat contradicts Mr. Khamenei's views, aligning more with the hardliners close to the clergy. Therefore, it can be said that voting for him indicates a tendency among the ruling clerics in Iran to maintain the leadership of the clergy and the Islamic Republic within the hardline factions that they control. Thus, Mr. Yazdi can be seen as a symbol of a type of hardline different from that of Mr. Ahmadinejad and his associates.' Mohammad Yazdi, who is 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. Following the presidency of Mohammad Khatami in 1997, there were challenges in the relationship between the judiciary and the executive branch, including the arrest of Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the former mayor of Tehran, in 1998, which led to government protests. Mohammad Yazdi has also criticized the government's performance in various areas several times since Hassan Rouhani came to power. Meanwhile, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's defeat to Mohammad Yazdi occurred under circumstances where, according to the newspaper Aftab Yazd, several members of the Assembly of Experts had invited him to participate in the election for the presidency of this Assembly. Ali-Asghar Ramadanpour comments on the failure of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council in the Assembly of Experts elections, stating: 'The small number of votes he received compared to Mr. Yazdi indicates that the pressure to remove Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani from the contemporary political scene in Iran still enjoys strong support among the clerics who consider themselves dependent on and indebted to Mr. Khamenei's leadership.' The Assembly of Experts meeting will conclude on Wednesday, and next year, simultaneous with the parliamentary elections, elections will also be held to determine new representatives for the Assembly of Experts.