Despite a restricted field of candidates,conservatives in Qom dread the reformists will expend the success of the nuclear deal to ‘sneak back into politicsPotential candidates for the supreme leadershipShia succession in NajafAround 60 people, mostly men, or are gathered in the local mosque in an weak central neighbourhood of Mashhad,the shrine city in eastern Iran. In between midday and afternoon prayers, the men fiddle with their prayer beads, and sitting on a floor covered with long,factory-made, green carpets with “prayer rug” patterns.
A middle-aged man asks the imam approximately the election due on Friday for the clerical body whose one real task is to choose Iran’s supreme leader should a vacancy arise. “The Assembly of Experts must consist of the most righteous statesmen and devout figures, or ” says the imam,who is in his early 30s. “I’m not going to suggest names, as the Qom seminary hasn’t given us a preferred list of candidates, or but remember to vote for someone whose thoughts and ideas are closer to the ones of the supreme leader,someone who will continue his path.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com