{"id":319730,"date":"2024-05-23T06:00:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T05:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=319730"},"modified":"2025-11-04T19:47:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T18:47:00","slug":"who-is-movahedi-kermani-iranian-regimes-pick-to-lead-assembly-of-experts-amid-survival-and-succession-crises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/anews\/who-is-who\/who-is-movahedi-kermani-iranian-regimes-pick-to-lead-assembly-of-experts-amid-survival-and-succession-crises\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Movahedi Kermani, Iranian Regime\u2019s Pick to Lead Assembly of Experts Amid Survival and Succession Crises"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Four-minute read<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In a critical juncture for the clerical regime, on May 21, Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani was appointed as the head of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for appointing the next Supreme Leader. According to the regime\u2019s constitution, this assembly is tasked with overseeing the Supreme Leader\u2019s performance, dismissing him if necessary, and selecting his successor. However, throughout its history, the Assembly of Experts has never criticized the Supreme Leader, has never presented a report on his performance, and has only praised Ali Khamenei. With no real oversight and after purging all dissenting members, the assembly’s true function is now solely to choose the individual who will take over after Khamenei\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ebrahim Raisi, a former head of the Judiciary and the regime’s president, <\/span>died in a helicopter crash<\/span><\/a> on May 19. Representing South Khorasan province in the Assembly of Experts, Raisi was seen as the most likely candidate to lead the assembly, especially with figures like Ahmad Jannati absent and former president Hasan Rouhani and former Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani eliminated.<\/span><\/p>\n

During <\/span>the session on Tuesday<\/span><\/a>, Hashem Hosseini Bushehri and Alireza Arafi, heads of the country\u2019s seminaries, were appointed as the first and second deputies of the Assembly of Experts, respectively. The assembly\u2019s permanent board has seven members, including the president, two deputies, two secretaries, and two supervisors. The term for members is eight years, with 88 representatives in total.<\/span><\/p>\n

Movahedi Kermani, born in 1931, is 93 years old. Like other deputies in the assembly, he has been a staunch ally of Khamenei for decades. An old member of the Islamic Republican Party, the first political organization of clerics after the 1979 revolution, he has been elected to the Assembly of Experts five times and has served in the parliament since the regime’s inception. His key roles in parliament have included heading the Internal Affairs Commission, leading the Defense Commission, and serving as the deputy speaker.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Khamenei\u2019s Circle and the Complex Incoherent World of Iran\u2019s Power Strainhttps:\/\/t.co\/WZ6tJu2TdG<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 5, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n