Khomeini Reins in a High-Ranking Council

The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Saturday stripped some powers from a high-ranking council established in February to speed up Iran’s decision-making process, Tehran Radio reported.

Following criticism from parliamentary deputies and other radicals that formation of the 13-member High Council of Expedience was unconstitutional, Khomeini declared that it will no longer be allowed to legislate independently of the Majlis, or Parliament.

The official radio, monitored in Nicosia, said Khomeini, Iran’s supreme leader, urged a return to constitutional law now that the need for a speedy decision-making process has decreased since the Aug. 20 cease-fire in the war with Iraq.

Khomeini, who set up the council in February, said it should revert to its original role--settling disputes between Parliament and the Council of Guardians, a panel of clergyman empowered to block laws they consider un-Islamic.

“No problem is (now) so urgent as to be debated directly in that council without being debated in the Majlis and being supervised by the Council of Guardians,” Tehran Radio quoted him as saying.

The new decree takes effect Jan. 21.

The High Council of Expedience was founded to stop ideological arguments about the limits of government power from blocking important legislation. It was also authorized to issue decrees on urgent matters.