Hardline cleric Larijani named to head powerful Iran body

Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani – the chief of Iran’s hardline judiciary who has been blacklisted by Washington – was named on Sunday as the new head of the powerful Expediency Council, state television reported. The council is intended to resolve disputes between parliament and a watchdog body, the Guardian Council. Larijani, 57, was appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who also made him a member of the Guardian Council, which vets laws and elections for compliance with Iran’s Islamic constitution, state television reported.