Iran judiciary announces sweeping leadership reshuffle

Tehran - BORNA - First Deputy Chief Justice Hamzeh Khalili announced the appointments during a meeting with reporters, describing the changes as part of a wider effort to bring younger managers into senior positions and accelerate reforms across the judicial system.

Among the most significant appointments, Haydar Asyabi, previously chief justice of Golestan Province, was named head of Iran’s Prisons Organization.

Nasser Atabati, formerly chief justice of West Azerbaijan Province, was appointed chief justice of Tehran Province.

Asghar Jahangir, who had served as the judiciary’s deputy for social affairs and crime prevention, was appointed head of the General Inspection Organization, one of the country’s main state oversight bodies.

Ali Danesh-Ara, previously deputy head of the judiciary’s protection and intelligence branch, was appointed head of the Judiciary Protection and Intelligence Center.

Nourollah Soltani was named deputy chief of the judiciary for judicial affairs, replacing the previous officeholder, while Mehdi Amiri Esfahani, a deputy prosecutor general, was appointed deputy for social affairs and crime prevention.

Seyed Mohsen Mousavi was appointed head of the judiciary’s Dispute Resolution Center.

Seyed Ali Kazemi, head of the Judiciary Research Institute, was also named judiciary spokesman while retaining his existing position.

Zabihollah Khodaeian, who had headed the General Inspection Organization, was appointed head of the Office of the Judiciary Chief.

Khalili said a decision on the next head of Iran’s Supreme Court would be announced after consultations with Supreme Court judges. He added that the head of the disciplinary prosecution office for judges and the disciplinary prosecutor for judges would also be selected this week.

The reshuffle will extend beyond the central judiciary, Khalili said, with changes planned in the leadership of judicial departments in 14 provinces.

He stressed that many of the changes at the judiciary’s headquarters amounted to new appointments rather than simple transfers between positions.

“A high percentage of these cases have involved actual changes,” Khalili said, adding that younger officials were now taking charge of a number of departments and deputy offices.

He said the process had taken longer than initially expected because Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei had ordered a detailed assessment of candidates and management needs before the appointments were finalized.

According to Khalili, the changes were based on prolonged expert review aimed at determining which officials would be best suited to pursue the judiciary’s objectives during the next phase of its work.

He stressed that replacing an official should not be interpreted as evidence that the previous officeholder had been unsuccessful or ineffective.

“A certain path may be pursued with one group of people, while a new period with new objectives may require others to accompany that process,” he said.

Khalili expressed hope that the reshuffle would help drive broader transformation within the judiciary.

Judiciary says reform goes beyond personnel changes

Khalili said management changes represent only one part of a wider reform agenda.

He pointed to the judiciary’s transformation plan, expansion of information technology and other initiatives, saying a new report titled “Transformation Narrative 2” was being prepared to detail measures taken during the Iranian year 1404 and assess progress across different sectors.

He said the judiciary was seeking to publish its progress more systematically and provide the public with step-by-step updates on institutional reforms.

Khalili also outlined the process used to select senior judicial managers, saying Mohseni-Ejei had issued guidelines five years ago focused on management development and succession planning.

Under the system, information on current managers and individuals considered to have management potential was collected by a dedicated department.

An initial committee of around seven members then reviewed the candidates and selected three names for each position, which were forwarded to a central committee for further assessment.

The central committee subsequently selected one candidate and submitted the choice to the judiciary chief for final approval.

Khalili said the judiciary had not previously used such a structured selection model on this scale.

New provincial judiciary chiefs named

The judiciary also announced a series of appointments at the provincial level.

Mohammad Alinejad was named chief justice of West Azerbaijan Province, while Jabbar Sepehri was appointed chief justice of Ilam Province.

Omran Alimohammadi was appointed chief justice of Lorestan Province, and Moslem Mohammadyaran was named chief justice of North Khorasan Province.

Mahboub Afrasiab was appointed chief justice of Zanjan Province, while Mohammad Bagher Narimani was named chief justice of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province.

Seyed Hossein Hosseini Vardanjani was appointed chief justice of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.

Mohammad Jabbari was named chief justice of Kurdistan Province, and Mohammad Sepanlou was appointed chief justice of Golestan Province.

Khalili said further provincial appointments are expected as the judiciary continues the broader management overhaul.

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