Official Iranian media reported today, Wednesday, that "the Guardian Council has prevented former President Hassan Rouhani from running again in the upcoming elections for the Council of Experts scheduled for March." A source close to Rouhani told Reuters, "The Guardian Council did not state the reason for its decision," adding that "no decision has been made yet regarding the appeal," as Rouhani has three days to appeal the council's decision. The source continued, "Rouhani has served on the Council of Experts for three terms since 1999... it will be interesting to know the reason for his disqualification."
The council, established in 1982 and composed of 88 members, supervises the most powerful authority in the country, but it rarely directly intervenes in policymaking. With Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei being 84 years old, the Council of Experts, elected every eight years, is expected to play a role in choosing the new leader. Rouhani, who is associated with the moderate camp, was elected president by a landslide in 2013 and 2017, promising to reduce Iran's diplomatic isolation. Rouhani sparked the ire of hardliners who opposed any rapprochement with the United States, which they consider "the Great Satan," following the 2015 nuclear agreement with six major powers. The official website of Hassan Rouhani, the former president of the Islamic Republic, quoted one of the clerics of the Guardian Council stating that the council has not approved his candidacy for the elections of the Assembly of Leadership Experts.
