Majles committee backs bill removing clerical requirement for intelligence minister
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What happened
Amir Hayat Moghadam said on 2026-11-07 that the Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Committee approved an amendment to end the statutory requirement that the intelligence minister be a qualified Islamic jurist. The change would alter eligibility rules for one of the Islamic Republic's most sensitive cabinet posts while the ministry is reportedly under acting leadership.
Why it matters
The committee approval moves a concrete personnel rule toward legislative consideration and opens a nearer-term route to appoint a full intelligence minister from a wider pool of candidates. That can shift bargaining inside the executive, parliament, and oversight bodies over control of the Ministry of Intelligence.
On 2026-11-07, Amir Hayat Moghadam said the Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Committee approved an amendment that would remove the legal requirement for the intelligence minister to be a qualified Islamic jurist. The move follows months in which the ministry has reportedly been led by an acting minister after Esmail Khatib's death in March. The measure now creates a live institutional path to a nomination and confirmation contest involving the Majles and likely Guardian Council review of the amended law.
Watch for
Majles presidium publication of the amendment on the open session agenda by 2026-11-13 Guardian Council spokesperson Hadi Tahan Nazif statement after the next council review session on whether the amendment conforms with the constitution and sharia President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration submitting or signaling a named intelligence minister candidate once the legal pathway is clarified Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Committee release of the approved amendment text or rapporteur summary detailing the final wording
Sources
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