For months, many political watchers had been waiting for the day when a new chairman of Assembly of Experts was elected. The day arrived, and the outcome was deemed a surprise: Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi.
Before the election, speculation revolved around the nomination of Guardian Council head, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, and Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, spiritual leader of hard-liner Endurance Front, both of whom are prominent figures of the conservative camp. There was no serious news and even predictions about the candidacy and consequent victory of Yazdi, the chairman of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, all of whom are critics of President Hassan Rouhani’s administration.