TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has described Iran’s Assembly of Experts as “the embodiment of Islamic democracy.”
In a message read out at the opening of the 6th session of the Assembly of Experts on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted the important position of the 88-member body in Iran’s Islamic establishment.
“The Assembly of Experts is the epitome of Islamic democracy. It is responsible for electing the Leader according to Islamic criteria, and it is itself chosen by the people … This is the clearest symbol and icon of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Leader said.
“The Assembly is one of the main pillars of the democratic Islamic establishment, which is strengthened … by the nation and guarantees the soundness and continuation of the system.”
The Assembly of Experts is in charge of overseeing the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution with a position of authority to either appoint or dismiss the Leader.
It began its new term in the absence of two of its members, President Ebrahim Raisi and Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Seyyed Muhammad Ali Al-e Hashem. The pair were martyred on Sunday in a helicopter crash in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.
In his message, Ayatollah Khamenei honored the memory of the deceased officials and wished them divine mercy.
He also touched on the Zionist regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, saying the killing of thousands of defenseless and unarmed Palestinians and the support of the so-called liberal Western governments for the “bloodthirsty wolf” exposes Western definition of freedom and human rights to the world’s awakened conscience.
On Tuesday, Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Movahedi Kermani was elected as the new chairman of the Assembly of Experts. He replaces Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and will hold the position for two years.
The 93-year-old Movahedi Kermani, a long-serving member of the assembly, has held various legislative and political positions in Iran since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Ayatollah Seyyed Hashem Husseini Bushehri and Ayatollah Alireza E’rafi, the head of Iran’s seminaries, were elected as deputy chairmen.