The state-run news agency Javan Online reported that the last session of the fourth Assembly of Experts was held on March 8 and 9, and on March 10 members of the Assembly went to meet Supreme Leader Khamenei. Referring to the results of the Assembly of Experts elections held on February 26, Khamenei said that the elimination of Mohammad Yazdi and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi is a loss for the Assembly of Experts.

In the elections, Khamenei and his allies in Tehran province lost badly and the current speaker of the Assembly of Experts, Mohammad Yazdi, was eliminated and Ahmad Jannati, the first candidate in Khamenei’s list, was the last to win his seat in the regime’s Assembly of Experts. 

According to Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the implications of taking one step back from the regime’s nuclear projects were reflected in the election as it has now disturbed the regime’s internal balance. The momentum gained by former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and allies has weakened and undermined Khamenei’s hegemony. “The entire regime was the loser of the elections; as internal crises aggravate and the population’s rage escalates, the mullahs inch closer to their downfall”, she added. 

In his meeting with Assembly of Expert members, Khamenei expressed his fear of the 2009 uprising and said the unruly behaviour of the people who did not get the votes in 2009 and created sedition in the country brought cost to the country and lured the enemy. He went on to call for stopping attacks on the Guardian Council and said vetting 12,000 people in twenty days is a legal shortcoming that must be resolved, and the Guardian Council should not be attacked because of this legal problem. 

The Guardian Council consists of 12 members, six members of which are directly appointed by Khamenei and six other members are lawyers who are elected by the introduction of the head of the judiciary and with the approval of the Parliament. Khamenei also names the head of the judiciary. Each candidate is vetted by this institution.

In another part of his speech, Khamenei said that the enemy has planned about 10 ways to infiltrate scientifically, culturally, and economically including “contacts with universities and scientists”, “participation in apparently scientific conferences, but with the aim of influence” and “sending security officers under the guise of cultural activities.”

The Supreme Leader said in a critical tone that westerners now travel to Iran but these travels have so far had no positive results and in practice we must see what effects these trips would have.