Shiite cleric, 93, replaces 97-year-old as Iranian council chairman

A 93-year-old Shiite cleric in Iran was elected on Tuesday to a two-year term as chairman of the influential Assembly of Experts, the Iranian news agency ISNA reported.

The arch-conservative preacher Mohammad Ali Kermani replaced the former chairman, Ahmad Jannati, who is 97.

The council is composed of 88 Shiite clerics who were elected to eight-year terms.

They determined the successor to the supreme leader in the event of his death.

Two members of the council were killed in the helicopter accident that occurred at the weekend that led to the death of President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran.

Mohammed-Ali Ale-Hashem was an imam who led the key Friday services in the city of Tabriz.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who turned 85 in April, was the most powerful man in Iran.

The Assembly of Experts was reappointed by Iranian voters at the same time as this year’s parliamentary elections.

Before the election, some criticised the disqualification of moderate ex-president Hassan Ruhani, who was a member of the assembly for more than 20 years.