The loss in the March 10 Assembly of Experts elections of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani to former judiciary head Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi to chair the body that is tasked with electing and supervising Iran's supreme leader was a surprise to many Iran watchers. Though Yazdi’s tenure only lasts 10 months until the next assembly general elections, before the elections many had believed that Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, who took over as interim chairman when Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani fell ill, would not only run but be elected by the sitting members of the Assembly of Experts.

Despite the euphoria in hard-line media over another Rafsanjani defeat, supporters of the onetime chairman of the assembly and the current head of the Expediency Council appear to feel that despite the loss, Rafsanjani is still an influential political figure. They point to a reported meeting between Rafsanjani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently that they believe indicates he will continue to be one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic.

The most surprising quote came from close Rafsanjani supporter Sadegh Zibakalam. He wrote in Shargh Daily that conservative media have delighted more in Rafsanjani’s loss than in Yazdi’s victory. Zibakalam wrote that despite the turmoil of the first decade of the revolution, Rafsanjani in the subsequent decades has become “more and more moderate” to the point that he views domestic extremists, not foreign enemies, as the biggest long-term threat to the Islamic Republic. 

He wrote that the reason Rafsanjani registered his name to run for the 2013 presidential elections was because of this threat of extremism — and that even when Rafsanjani heard the news that the hard-line Guardian Council would disqualify him, he refused to withdraw. Zibakalam continued that Rafsanjani had repeatedly said if he feels that certain individuals he did not see fit would run, he too would decide to run.