Grandson of Khomeini Seeks to Join Guardian Council

TEHRAN — A moderate Iranian cleric, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, registered on Friday as a candidate in elections for the council charged with picking the country’s next supreme leader, whenever that time comes.

The cleric, Hassan Khomeini, 43, whose grandfather Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led the 1979 Islamic Revolution, told reporters that he was entering the elections for the council, the Assembly of Experts, as an independent candidate. The vote will take place on Feb. 26.

His candidacy has upset Iran’s conservatives, who fear he will use his powerful family name to attract votes. While hard-liners revere Ayatollah Khomeini, they have long criticized his grandchildren for being too close to the country’s reformist wing.

“Some groups welcomed my candidacy, others criticized my candidacy,” Mr. Khomeini told the news agency ISNA after registering at the Interior Ministry. “And some regard it as a rift in the society’s atmosphere. They are wrong.”

His candidacy is subject to the approval of the powerful Guardian Council, a 12-member group dominated by political opponents of Mr. Khomeini. Hard-line news outlets have already said that Mr. Khomeini, who is not an ayatollah, lacks the theological credentials for the 86-member Assembly of Experts. The conservative newspaper Kayhan said that the only support Mr. Khomeini would find would be in the foreign news media.

More moderate Iranian news outlets have said that Mr. Khomeini is likely to attract a large number of votes if he is allowed to run, and that he could emerge as the symbolic leader of the factions opposing the hard-liners. A disqualification would be politically delicate, as it would distance the Khomeini family from the establishment.

Mr. Khomeini and his son Ahmad are both on Instagram and each have around 180,000 followers. Their images show a family closely intertwined with the political leadership around President Hassan Rouhani that has promised more personal freedom and better relations with the outside world.

Last week, Mr. Khomeini posted old pictures of himself and others being embraced by Ayatollah Khomeini, who died in 1989. There are also images of Mr. Khomeini sitting by a campfire, and selfies with his children.

“If he is elected, it will mean the reformists will get more influence,” said Nader Karimi Joni, a journalist close to the reformist camp. “Now, we must wait and see if he will be qualified.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/19/world/middleeast/iran-hassan-khomeini-supreme-leader.html