(JNi.media) The Iranian Assembly of Experts is in the process of choosing a successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 75, who had surgery for prostate cancer last year, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani revealed on Sunday—the first time such discussions have been made public in Iran since the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
The Assembly of Experts is a body of theologians charged with electing and removing the Supreme Leader of Iran and supervising his activities. Members of the assembly are elected from lists of candidates by direct public vote for eight-year terms. The current chairman of the Assembly is Mohammad Yazdi, who was elected in March 2015.
According to an ILNA news agency report on Sunday, Rafsanjani, an ally of President Hassan Rouhani, stated that “the Assembly of Experts will act when a new leader needs to be appointed. They are preparing for that now and are examining the options.”
The Assembly of Experts is up for re-election in February, and Rafsanjani’s statement is seen as his effort to urge Iranians to turn out to vote for more moderate candidates, who would eventually pick a more moderate Supreme Leader.
According to the Iranian Constitution, in the event of the Supreme Leader’s death, resignation or dismissal, the Assembly of Experts must take steps as quickly as possible to appoint his replacement. The assembly has never dismissed a sitting Supreme Leader. Also, the assembly has never been known to challenge or otherwise publicly oversee any of the Supreme Leader’s decisions.
Women are eligible to run for the Assembly of Experts. In 1998 nine women submitted their candidacy, and were rejected because they lacked qualifications.
The Supreme Leader is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appoints the heads of the judiciary. He also gives his blessings to key ministerial appointments and has the final word on Iran’s foreign policy and its nuclear program. Khamenei was appointed in 1989, following the demise of Ayatollah Khomeini.
Khamenei’s health has been declining in the past eight years. In January 2007, after he had not been seen in public for several weeks, including at the celebrations of the Eid al-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice, second most important Muslim holiday), there were widespread rumors of his illness or death. Khamenei issued a statement declaring that “enemies of the Islamic system fabricated various rumors about death and health to demoralize the Iranian nation.” His photograph was releasded along with the statement, in which he looked deathly ill. On September 9, 2014, Khamenei underwent prostate surgery. He is believed to have prostate cancer.