Ayatollah Ali Akbar Meshkini-Speaker (head) of the Assembly of Experts died. The Assembly of Experts is empowered to elect a new Supreme Leader or dismiss a sitting one. The current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is also reported to be very ill so he may soon be replaced. The deputy Speaker of the Assembly of Experts is Ali Akbar Rafsanjani-a fierce opponent of President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad. Should Rafsanajani become leader of the Assembly of Experts he may be in a position to choose Khamanei's replacement-he may choose himself for this role. Rafsanjani is certainly not a friend of Israel's or America but he is not religiously inspired to destroy Israel or attack America and he is much more concerned with his growing wealth-thus the possibility of working with him (regarding sanctions and Iran's nuclear program) may be heightened. He is probably the wealthiest man in Iran (A few years ago, Forbes named him one of the wealthiest men in the world) and his nepotism is...(Read Full Post)