After a five-month watching, and a day before the vote of the Iranian Shura Council on the confidence of the proposed ministers of the new government. on the fourteenth of this month, the Murshed of the Iranian Republic Mr. Ali Khamenei appointed, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, head of the Expediency Council, instead of the late boss Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and the appointment of former head of judiciary Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi as the head of the Council is to strengthen the conservative authority in an essential institution despite the recent success of the reformists in the presidential and municipal elections.
The Expediency Council plays , which includes 44 member’s interest, a key role in shaping Iran’s policy, it is the highest advisory body proposes the general policies of the system to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and is the highest regulatory body to implement a comprehensive policies of political system, as well as solving system problems with the advice of the Iranian Murshed. And the supervisory role of the Council allows to disable the decisions of the parliament and government opposition to the regime’s policies, as the Iranian constitution puts the settlement of differences between the parliament and the Guardian Council of the constitution on the shoulders of the Expediency Council. The Expediency Council consists of legal personalities including the heads of the three authorities, and scholars of the Guardian Council of the constitution, and Secretary of the Supreme Council of National Security, and the Minister or head of the institution concerned with the subject, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Islamic Shura Council of the relevant subject.
«Shahroudi» is considered close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the possible successor to the post of Wali al-Faqih, according to observers. The «Shahroudi» is one of the most important Shiites Marja in Iran and Iraq and he runs the Expediency Council by deputy since the death of «Rafsanjani» on the last January 8.
Shahroudi was born in the Iraqi city of Najaf in 1948, and studied in religious Hawza, before responding to a request from his teacher, Imam Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, and travels to Iran in 1980, after he was stopped by the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime. His name to shine after the death of Khomeini and Khamenei took leadership, as he was elected president of the Judiciary for two terms (1999 – 2009), and a member of the Council of Experts, and then vice president.
Followers of the Iranian affair see that the selection of “Shhroudi” by the Murshed Ali Khamenei as a chairman of the Expediency Council that he seeks to re-strengthen the conservative fundamentalist influence again where the results of the elections of the Shura Council and the Council of Experts and the presidency have caused , conducted in February and April-2016 and May2017respectively , the fall of it significantly in favor of the moderate current ,which includes the pro-regime wing of reformists and the traditional wing of the conservative current . Also the reason for the selection was attributed to the outstanding results achieved by the moderates in those elections which are not in favor of dedicating the postion of Mr. Ali Khamenei as the first man inside the system, and can support the chances of their participation in the re-drafting of political arrangements and balances during the next phase, which could see more important benefits , most notably the choice of a successor to Khamenei himself, in light of his age and undergoing surgery on the prostate in September 2014 in a way that pushed the system to prepare a list of potential candidates to take over the position of Murshed to succeed him. “Shahroudi” may be of the most prominent figures that will succeed Khamenehi in his office after his death.
Although he was close to the supreme leader of the Iranian Revolution (Murshed) and the most likely candidate to win the post of -Wali al-Faqih from the religious point of view, but some of the currents and Marja in Iran opposed him to assuming the post of al-Murshed because of his Iraqi nationality. some MPs considered the nationality of «Shahroudi» is a problem before entering the Council of experts, especially as he was the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic revolution in Iraq, which was the most powerful organization of Iraqi Shiite opposition in Iran till the fall of Iraqi regime in 2003. Observers of the Iranian affair see that the decision of Mr. Ali Khamenei to appoint “Shahroudi” as a chairman of the Expediency Council reflects his commitment to re-form the Iranian Expediency Council to serve the interests of the Conservative and bet on the hard line inside Iran and abroad. This appointment also revealed the end of any chance for the emergence of the reformist movement in any role in the Iranian political life.
Iranian Studies Unit
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies