On Tuesday, Iran inaugurated the new Assembly of Experts, the body composed of 88 clerics responsible for selecting the Supreme Leader in the event of a vacancy.
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The new Assembly elected Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani, 93, as its president with 55 votes in favor.
The ceremony was attended by 83 of the 88 members of the body, with the empty seats of the deceased: President Ebrahim Raisi and the Friday prayer leader of the city of Tabriz, Mohammad-Ali Al-Hashem, who died on Sunday in a helicopter crash.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, described the Assembly of Experts as a manifestation of Islamic democracy and warned of the “bitter realities of anti-religious systems.”
The Assembly of Experts is elected for a period of eight years, which grants the newly inaugurated body significant importance, as the current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has just turned 85.
"Known for his role as Tehran’s Friday Prayer Ephemeral Imam and former secretary-general of the Combatant Clergy Association, he succeeds Ahmad Jannati, a centenarian cleric," commented Iran International.
The Assemby of Experts also has the mission of overseeing the Leader’s work and holds the power to replace him, something that has never happened.