Iran’s new Assembly of Experts convenes for 1st biannual meeting

The 88-member Assembly of Experts officially started the first session of its new term on Tuesday. The 6th term of the assembly kicked off in the presence of high-ranking governmental and military officials.

Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani was elected as the chairman of the assembly with 55 votes for two years.

The Assembly of Experts elects and oversees the activities of the leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Members of the assembly are directly elected to office by people for an eight-year term. It holds biannual meetings to appoint a new chairman.

Countrywide Assembly of Experts elections and the parliamentary polls were held in Iran simultaneously on March 1.

Around 61 million Iranian people were eligible to vote, including 3.5 million first-time voters.

In a message read out at the opening of the 6th session of the Assembly of Experts, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali 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,” he added.