Iran International
Tehran state-affiliated media are hinting that Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei could soon be appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to head the Guardian Council, the powerful body that vets election candidates and approves parliament’s legislation.
The strongest signal came last week from the Revolutionary Guards-linked Fars News Agency, which described the potential move as a “necessary transition in governance.”
The council’s current chairman, ultra-conservative cleric Ahmad Jannati, will turn 99 next February. He was appointed to the post more than three decades ago and has become increasingly absent from public view.
The timing has also drawn attention because Ejei—himself appointed judiciary chief by Khamenei—is approaching the end of his term.
‘Instill hope’
Beyond the passage of time, Fars floated two additional explanations: resolving tensions between Ejei and President Massoud Pezeshkian over the enforcement of compulsory hijab laws and countering what it described as efforts by “domestic and foreign actors” to depict the Islamic Republic as being in crisis.
According to the agency, these actors are amplifying signs of internal discord—pointing to the resignation of Vice President Javad Zarif last year and rumors Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref may follow suit—as evidence of an intensifying succession struggle.
The commentary ultimately stressed that the Guardian Council ranks above the Judiciary in the political hierarchy and framed Ejei’s transfer as a promotion rather than a demotion, calling for swift action to “calm the political and social atmosphere and instill hope among the nation.”
‘Hope it’s not true’
The issue has since been widely debated across Tehran’s media.
Mohammad Mohajeri, a former Kayhan editor who later became a conservative commentator, said Jannati’s departure would be “good news” after years of what he described as “questionable” candidate vetting. But he added: “I hope it is not true.”
Speaking to Fararu, Mohajeri said Ejei would “most probably improve the Guardian Council,” warning that his exit from the Judiciary could slow or reverse what he saw as modest positive changes there.
Others were more critical. Some dissidents and outspoken lawyers rejected the idea of Ejei’s “promotion,” arguing that he should instead be held accountable for his record as judiciary chief.
During his tenure, at least two senior judicial officials were tried and convicted on financial corruption charges.
Another hardliner in line?
Moderate outlets, including the Tehran daily Shargh, suggested the move was effectively settled, citing “behind-the-scenes jockeying” by hardline factions to position themselves for Ejei’s departure.
The judiciary chief’s post is traditionally reserved for figures within the Supreme Leader’s trusted inner circle, reflecting the institution’s control over the prison system and its central role in suppressing dissent.
Several media outlets have pointed to Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the hardline head of Iran’s Supreme Court, as Ejei’s likely successor. Montazeri is known for his strict stance on hijab enforcement but has not previously been regarded as part of Khamenei’s closest circle.
Avaye Latif, a website close to the Judiciary, wrote that Montazeri’s appointment would amount to “the continuation of judicial management by someone with a long history in this institution.”
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.