[3] The debate within the Assembly of Experts on the constitutional change included whether the clerical qualification of Marjaʿiyyat present in Article 109 contributed to the quality of leadership Khomeini was seen as maintaining.

[2] The decision to hold the session was made on 3 June 1989, when Ahmad Khomeini phoned Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani at around 3:00 pm to inform him that his father was in critical condition.

[5] When it became evident that choosing a successor would be necessary, Rafsanjani and Mohsen Rezaei called assembly members in the provinces to Tehran for an emergency meeting.

He was considered a distinguished Marja', and after Hussein-Ali Montazeri was dismissed as the heir, he quickly emerged as the "leading candidate" in public discussions.

[5] After Golpaygani's vote did not meet the threshold, for the second attempt Ali Khamenei was considered and was chosen as the Supreme Leader.

[10] In 2008, excerpts of never-before-seen footage of the session was aired by the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, showing that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani played a key role in persuading the assembly members to vote for Khamenei.

[10] According to the testimony of Rafsanjani in the session, Ayatollah Khomeini had in a meeting in March 1989 pointed that Khamenei would be a suitable successor for him, responding to remarks that no other candidate exists for succession after the dismissal of Montazeri.

Well, based on the Constitution, I am not qualified for the job and, from a religious point of view, many of you [all clergy members of the Assembly of Experts] will not accept my words as those of a leader.