Meshkini was an Iranian Azerbaijani born in a village near Meshkin Shahr[4] and the Sabalan mountain.

As such, he was an influential force in changing the leadership of the judiciary from a triumvirate, the Supreme Judicial Council, to an individual in 1989.

[7] Meshkini died on 30 July 2007 at 16:30 local time, at Tehran Hospital, of respiratory and kidney failure.

He regarded the Iranian reformist movement "as a complete waste of time" and on several occasions called for the resignation of the likes of Mohammad Khatami.

After the Israel-Lebanon conflict, Meshkini has been quoted to say that "victory of the Lebanese Hizbollah over the Zionist regime was a divine phenomenon.