Rafsanjani denies reports he is unwilling to become chairman of Assembly of Experts

One day after Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, an influential member of the Assembly of Experts, said Ayatollah Rafsanjani seems unwilling to take over as chairman of the assembly, Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president who led the assembly until March 2011, said he would field his candidacy for the post if individuals he deem unfit for the top job threw their hats in the ring. The following is a brief announcement which appeared on the official website of Ayatollah Rafsanjani (hashemirafsanjani.ir):

A source close to Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani has denied the statement of another member of the assembly [a reference to Principlist Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami] that Rafsanjani seems unwilling to run for chairman of the assembly.

“In response to a question as to whether he would run for the top job at the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Rafsanjani has simply said, ‘In case individuals I deem unfit make a run for the chairmanship of the assembly, I would field my candidacy too,'” the source said.

[The top job at the Assembly of Experts was vacated last week when Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani passed away after slipping into a coma in early June.]