Moderate appointed to head Iran’s Expediency Council

Al-Monitor Staff

Aug 15, 2017

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) reads the oath of office as Judiciary Chief Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi looks on during Ahmadinejad's swearing-in ceremony in Tehran August 5, 2009. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN POLITICS) - RTR26F4I — Judiciary Chief Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi looks on during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's swearing-in ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 5, 2009. — REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

On Aug. 14, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi as the new chairman of the Expediency Council. Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had headed the council for decades, until his death in January.

The Expediency Council was established in 1988 to resolve differences or conflicts between the parliament and the Guardian Council, which is tasked with assessing and approving parliament bills based on their adherence to Islamic law.