The composition of the political body charged with selecting Iran’s next supreme leader is already tilting away from the moderates. Iranians will go to the polls on February 26 to elect 88 men to the Assembly of Experts from a predetermined list of candidates. A semifinal version of that list has been released. Of the nine candidates who are currently running unopposed in their districts, none are natural allies to the moderate-pragmatic bloc some hope will emerge under Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and President Hassan Rouhani, who are candidates for the Assembly as well. Eight of these nine unopposed candidates have strong ties to the Society of Qom Seminary Teachers, a prominent conservative body that forms the backbone of Iran’s clerical network. Several have also been appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as his personal representatives in their respective provinces, meaning that they are embedded at least to some extent in Khamenei’s personal network. The backgrounds of these candidates suggest that they are unlikely to select a supreme leader of a significantly different ideological mold than Khamenei himself.

1. Unopposed Candidates in the Assembly of
Experts Election
Paul Bucala, Caitlin Shayda Pendleton, and Marie
Donovan
Critical Threats Project
American Enterprise Institute
February 8, 2016

2. AYATOLLAH ALI AKBAR GHOREYSHI
● Electoral district: West Azerbaijan province
● Longtime Assembly member. Has served as an Assembly of Experts
member since the body’s inception in 1982; also elected to a special
1979 session of “the Assembly of Experts for the Constitution,”
which drafted the Islamic Republic’s first constitution.
● Holds close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Previously served as Khamenei’s representative to Urmia University
and Construction Jihad in West Azerbaijan University. His son, Hojjat
ol Eslam Mehdi Ghoreyshi, is both Khamenei’s representative in
West Azerbaijan province and Urmia’s Friday prayer leader.
● Currently and historically supported by conservative groups.
Featured on the conservative Combatant Clergy Association and
conservative Society of Qom Seminary Teachers’ joint electoral list
for the 2006 Assembly of Experts elections. News outlets reported in
January 2016 that the Society of Qom Seminary Teachers will
support Ghoreyshi in the current elections.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE

3. HOJJAT OL ESLAM ASGHAR DIRBAZ
● Electoral district: West Azerbaijan province
● Recent Assembly member. Elected to the Fourth Assembly of Experts
in the December 2006 elections, when he also ran unopposed.
● Has tentatively called for a more assertive Assembly. Stated in 2014
that the Assembly “could be more active” in reviewing the Supreme
Leader’s qualifications, but added that it would “conflict” with the
trust between the Supreme Leader and the Assembly.
● Longstanding and influential Society of Qom Seminary Teachers
member. Reportedly endorsed in the current elections by the
conservative Society of Qom Seminary Teachers, in which he has held
senior positions.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE

4. HOJJAT OL ESLAM ABBAS SHAH RAFAETI
● Electoral district: West Azerbaijan province
● Has never served on the Assembly before.
● Record of ties to Society of Qom Seminary Teachers. Has held senior
positions in the conservative Society of Qom Seminary Teachers,
which has reportedly endorsed him in the current elections.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE

5. HOJJAT OL ESLAM HASSAN AMELI
● Electoral District: Ardabil province
● Current Assembly of Experts member. The conservative Society of
Qom Seminary Teachers, of which he is also a member, supported him
in the last elections.
● Holds close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The
Supreme Leader appointed Ameli as his representative in Ardabil
province and as Ardabil’s Friday prayer leader following the death of
Ayatollah Moravej Ardabili in November 2002.
● Unsympathetic to disqualified candidates. Recently criticized “some
inappropriate movements by candidates who try to ridicule the
nation’s conscience” – presumably referring to candidates who are
vocally protesting their disqualifications.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE

6. AYATOLLAH FAJRALDIN MOUSAVI NANEKARAN
● Electoral District: Ardabil province
● Former parliamentary member. Was a member of the first (1980-
1984), third (1988-1992), and fifth parliaments (1996-2000).
● Previous Assembly of Experts candidate. Ran in the 2006 Assembly of
Expert elections and was approved to run by the Guardian Council, but
did not win a seat.
● Recently apolitical. Is a noted seminary teacher and writer, but does
not appear to have been active in political organizations in the past
decade.
POLITICAL CAMP: UNKNOWN

7. AYATOLLAH HASHEM HOSSEINI BUSHEHRI
● Electoral district: Bushehr province
● Current Qom Friday prayer leader. During a recent sermon, he praised
the IRGC for the capture of 10 U.S. Navy Sailors on January 12. He
added that U.S. Navy sailors were “terrified by the IRGC.”
● Current Assembly of Experts member. The conservative Society of
Qom Seminary teachers supported him in the previous elections. He is
also an influential deputy in the Society.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE

8. AYATOLLAH HABIBOLLAH MEHMANNAVAZ
● Electoral district: North Khorasan province
● Current Assembly of Experts member. The conservative Society of
Qom Seminary Teachers supported him in the last Assembly of
Experts elections in December 2006. Was previously elected to the
Assembly of Experts in 1990.
● Anti-Reformist and culturally conservative. Spoke out harshly against
the 2009 protests calling for government reform. Called for clergy
members to play a more active role in society to defend against
cultural infiltration by Western lifestyles.
● Strong anti-American tendencies. Called America the “center of evil”
and stated that there is “no benefit” to warming relations with the
United States.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE

9. AYATOLLAH MOHAMMAD SHAHCHERAGI
● Electoral District: Semnan province
● Current Assembly of Experts member. The Society of Qom Seminary
Teachers supported his bid during the last elections in December
2006.
● Represents the Supreme Leader in his electoral district. Acts as the
Representative of the Supreme Leader to Semnan province and as the
Semnan Friday Prayer Leader.
● Holds senior positions at two major charitable trusts. Oversees the
presence of two major “bonyads,” or para-governmental charitable
trusts, in his province: Imam Khomeini Relief Committee and the
Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE
PICTURE

10. AYATOLLAH GHOLAM ALI NA’IM ABADI
● Electoral District: Hormozgan province
● Current Assembly of Experts member. The conservative Society of
Qom Seminary Teachers supported him in the last Assembly of Experts
elections in December 2006.
● Represents the Supreme Leader in his electoral district. Acts as the
Supreme Leader’s Representative to Hormozgan province and the
Friday prayer leader of Bushehr province.
POLITICAL CAMP: CONSERVATIVE
PICTURE