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Iran: Hardliner Jannati elected head of top clerical body Iran hardliner Jannati elected head of Assembly of Experts
(35 minutes later)
A hardline conservative has been elected chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts, a powerful body which selects the country's supreme leader. A hardline conservative has been elected chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts, a powerful clerical body which selects the country's supreme leader.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, 90, is one of the few hardliners to have secured re-election in Iran's February elections. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, 90, was one of the few hardliners to secure re-election to the assembly in February.
It was Iran's reformist and moderate politicians who made major gains in February, in Tehran and elsewhere. Reformists and moderates asked their supporters to vote tactically to stop most of them retaining their seats.
But Mr Jannati's election is a signal that hardliners are still in control of the Assembly of Experts. But Ayatollah Jannati's election is a signal that hardliners are still in control of the assembly.
The 88-member assembly, which is made up mostly of elderly clerics, will select the successor to Iran's current supreme leader, 77-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The composition of the assembly is seen as significant given that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 77 and has suffered ill-health.
The supreme leader is Iran's most powerful figure, and has the final say on all policy in Iran. He is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is responsible for appointing senior judges and heads of major state-owned companies. The supreme leader is Iran's most powerful figure, and has the final say on all policy in Iran.
Mr Jannati has been openly critical of reformist President Hassan Rouhani and his desire to negotiate closer ties with the West. Ayatollah Jannati has been openly critical of moderate President Hassan Rouhani and his desire to open Iran to greater trade and investment and deepen dialogue with the West.
The hardliner won the chairmanship with 51 votes from assembly members, Iranian media reported. The hardliner is also the leader of the Guardian Council, an unelected body disqualified thousands of reformist candidates from standing in February's elections for the assembly and parliament.
He won the chairmanship of the Assembly of Experts on Tuesday with 51 votes, Iranian media reported.