What is the role of the Assembly of Experts in relation to the Supreme Leader's tenure?

• A. Oversees and can elect or dismiss the Leader, linking religious authority to political leadership.
• B. Writes domestic economic policy.
• C. Manages the police force.
• D. Directs the military.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that this body acts as a religious-legal check on the supreme leader and has the power to determine his tenure. Members are clerics elected by the people for eight-year terms, with candidates vetted for qualifications. The Assembly of Experts is charged with supervising the Leader and, crucially, with electing a new Leader if the current one is unable to perform his duties or should be dismissed for incapacity. This creates a constitutional link between religious authority and political leadership, ensuring the Leader’s position rests on both legitimacy and consent of the clerical-establishment body. In practice, the Assembly has never removed a sitting Leader, but its theoretical authority to elect or dismiss him remains the mechanism by which the tenure is governed. Policies like domestic economic planning, police administration, and direct military control are not functions of the Assembly; those areas fall under the government and security institutions, not this body.