On December 15, the Islamic Republic will hold its fifth election for the Assembly of Experts, a body of eighty-six clerics, who have the power to appoint Iran’s supreme leader and supervise his activities. Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s ascent to the presidency in June 2005, radicals in Iran have consolidated their power over much of the nation. Veterans of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and hard-line clerics now run much of Iran’s public sector, including universities and government agencies. This election could cement the radicals’ rise and help deliver Ahmadinejad’s radical vision for Iran and the Middle East.

What is at stake in the elections? Could they catapult Ahmadinejad’s spiritual mentor, Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi, into the position of supreme leader, thus ousting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? What does it all mean for democracy in Iran?

Please join AEI for a conference on these and other questions. Speakers will include Mohebat Ahdiyyih, senior Iran analyst at the Open Source Center (formerly, Foreign Broadcast Information Service); Mehdi Khalaji, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and A. William Samii, author of the weekly Iran Report and an Iran analyst. Danielle Pletka, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at AEI, will moderate.