The Assembly appoints the country's most powerful official, the Supreme Leader. It sits for an eight-year term, and its next members may end up choosing the current Supreme Leader's successor.The Assembly of Experts - also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Expert - is the deliberative body empowered to designate and dismiss the Supreme Leader of Iran.However all directly-elected members after the vetting process by the Guardian Council still have to be approved by the Supreme Leader of Iran before gaining membership to the Assembly of Experts. All candidates to the Assembly of Experts must be approved by the Guardian Council whose members are, in turn, appointed either directly or indirectly by the Supreme Leader.The Assembly consists of eighty eight Mujtahids that are elected (after approval by Supreme Leader) from lists of thoroughly vetted candidates by direct public vote for eight-year terms.The number of members has ranged from 82 elected in 1982 to 88 elected in 2016. Current laws require the assembly to meet for at least two days every six months.The current chairman of the Fifth Assembly is Ahmad Jannati.
