The Expediency Discernment Council of the System is an administrative assembly of Iran appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution on 6 February 1988. It was originally set up to resolve differences or conflicts between the Majlis and the Guardian Council,but "its true power lies more in its advisory role to the Supreme Leader." According to Hooman Majd,the Leader "delegated some of his own authority to the council—granting it supervisory powers over all branches of the government" following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election in 2005.
The University of Poitiers is a public university located in Poitiers,France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France by welcoming nearly 28,000 students in 2017.
Presidential elections were held in Iran 17 June 2005,with a second round run-off on 24 June. Mohammad Khatami,the previous president of Iran,stepped down on 2 August 2005,after serving his maximum two consecutive four-year terms according to the Islamic republic's constitution. The election led to the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,the hardline mayor of Tehran,with 19.48% of the votes in the first round and 61.69% in the second. Factors thought to have contributed to Ahmadinejad's victory include mobilization of mosque networks and conservative/hardline voters,and a protest vote against corrupt elite insiders and for "new political blood". A loyal supporter of conservative Supreme Leader Khamenei,Ahmadinejad kissed the leader's hand during his authorization ceremony. Officials reported a turnout of about 59% of Iran's 47 million eligible voters,a decline from the 63% turnout reported in the first round of balloting a week before.
Mehdi Karroubi is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests,Karroubi was put under house arrest in February 2011 –reportedly ordered by the Supreme Leader of Iran –without officially being charged,although he is accused of being a "seditionist" and "traitor". As of 2021,he is still confined to his house.
Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician,artist and architect who served as the 49th and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election unrest. Mousavi served as the president of the Iranian Academy of Arts until 2009,when conservative authorities removed him. Although Mousavi had always considered himself a reformist and believed in promoting change within the 1979 Revolution constitution,on 3 Feb 2023,in response to the violent suppression of Iranians by Ali Khamenei,the Supreme Leader of Iran,he announced opposition to the Islamic Republic constitution and asked for a widespread referendum to fully change the constitution and make a fundamental change in Iran's political system.
Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT),also called the Tehran Polytechnic,is a public technological university located in Tehran,Iran. Founded in 1958,AUT is the oldest technical university established in Iran.
Mohammad Reza Aref is an Iranian engineer,academic and reformist politician who was the parliamentary leader of reformists' Hope fraction in the Iranian Parliament,representing Tehran,Rey,Shemiranat and Eslamshahr. Aref has also been heading the Reformists' Supreme Council for Policymaking since its establishment in 2015. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
The prime minister of Iran was a political post that had existed in Iran (Persia) during much of the 20th century. It began in 1906 during the Qajar dynasty and into the start of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1923 and into the 1979 Iranian Revolution before being abolished in 1989.
Ali Akbar Velayati is an Iranian conservative politician and physician. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Velayati is a distinguished professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences,senior adviser to the Supreme Leader in international affairs and head of the board of founders and the board of trustees of the Islamic Azad University.
Mohammad Reyshahri,also known as Mohammad Mohammadi-Nik,was an Iranian politician and cleric who was the first Minister of Intelligence,serving from 1984 to 1989 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Mostafa Moeen is an Iranian politician,professor of pediatrics,and a human rights activist who is currently founder and president of the Front for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran. He was a presidential candidate for the 2005 Iranian presidential election. His campaign enjoyed the support of some reformist parties and organizations,headed by the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF).
Mohsen Rezaee is an Iranian conservative politician affiliated with the Resistance Front of Islamic Iran and senior military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,who is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council,secretary of the Supreme Council for Economic Coordination,as well as the secretary of the Iranian government's Economic Committee. He was secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council from 1997 to 2021 and Vice President of Iran for Economic Affairs between 2021 and 2023.
Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi is an Iranian politician who was minister of culture and Islamic guidance of Iran from 21 August 2005 until 23 July 2009 when he resigned after opposing the appointment of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei as vice president. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
Gholam Reza Aghazadeh is an Iranian politician. Aghazadeh served as the Vice President for Atomic Energy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from September 1997 until his resignation in July 2009. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli is an Iranian politician,diplomat,economist and academic. He was the Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum from 2014 until 2018. He is the founder of Ravand Institute. He was the chairman of Iran's first Investment Bank Amin Investment Bank until 2011. In May 2014,he received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan,Akihito,the highest Order given to any Iranian National for his important role in the Iran–Japan Relation.
Fakhreddin Ahmadi-Danesh-Ashtiani is an Iranian politician and scholar and the former Minister of Education.
Hossein Mozaffar is an Iranian conservative politician who was Minister of Education under President Mohammad Khatami and represented Tehran,Rey,Shemiranat and Eslamshahr in the Parliament of Iran twice. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
On 8 January 2017,Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,the fourth President of Iran and the country's Chairman of Expediency Discernment Council,died at the age of 82 after suffering a heart attack. He was transferred unconscious to a hospital in Tajrish,north Tehran. Attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than an hour trying to revive him were unsuccessful and he died at 19:30 local time (UTC+3:30).
There were three live televised debates in total. First debate focused on social issues while the next two revolved around economic and political matters. The candidates had drawn lots to determine their seating arrangement for the debate.
