Larijani Resigns from Iran’s Guardian Council

Sadeq Larijani (R) and Ali Larijani (L) (ICANA)
Sadeq Larijani (R) and Ali Larijani (L) (ICANA)
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Larijani Resigns from Iran’s Guardian Council

Sadeq Larijani (R) and Ali Larijani (L) (ICANA)
Sadeq Larijani (R) and Ali Larijani (L) (ICANA)

Iran’s Guardian Council announced the resignation of its prominent member, Sadeq Larijani, a few months after he criticized the 12-member body for excluding the candidacy of his brother, Ali Larijani, from presidential elections later won by Ebrahim Raisi.

Ali Larijani had served as parliament speaker in Iran.

In a decree on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei assigned a cleric, Hosseini Khorasani, to replace Larijani.

Khorasani is one of the six Guardian Council jurists that Khamenei named. The Chief Justice selects the other six members.

The Guardian Council supervises the laws and decisions issued by the Iranian parliament and vetting the applications of candidates for presidential and parliamentary elections.

Also, it is considered one of Khamenei’s most significant arms in national politics. But the Guardian Council’s interference in legislative and presidential elections usually draws sharp criticism.

In the latest round of presidential elections, it slashed the candidacy of rather popular officials like Larijani’s brother and Eshaq Jahangiri, the former vice president of Iran.

Larijani had protested strongly against the rejection of his brother’s candidacy application and published a series of tweets in which he accused security services of being behind disqualifying the former parliament speaker from the presidential race.

However, he later rolled back from his statements.

Guardian Council spokesperson Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei said that Larijani had received a warning over his controversial tweets.

Today, Larijani chairs the Expediency Discernment Council, an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader.

More so, Larijani’s tenure as the Chief Justice of Iran ended on March 7, 2019, when Khamenei appointed Ebrahim Raisi to succeed him.

Many observers anticipate what the future holds for the Larijani brothers, especially next year when the new members of the Expediency Council are named.



Spanish Foreign Minister Calls for Weapons Embargo on Israel 

Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (Reuters) 
Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (Reuters) 
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Spanish Foreign Minister Calls for Weapons Embargo on Israel 

Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (Reuters) 
Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (Reuters) 

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called on Tuesday for a weapons embargo on Israel while the war in Gaza lasts and urged the resumption of talks on Iran's nuclear program.

"We are the largest trade partner of Israel in the world, the European Union," he said on Bloomberg TV. "We must impose, for our European partners, an arms embargo, not to sell weapons to Israel as long as this war continues."

He said he wanted the EU to act as it did after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to try to achieve peace.

The minister regretted there were no signs of de-escalation between Israel and Iran and called for a resumption of dialogue with Iran on its nuclear program.