| Honorific-Prefix: | Ayatollah |
| Mohammad Yazdi | |
| Birth Date: | 2 July 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Isfahan, Imperial State of Persia |
| Death Place: | Qom, Iran |
| Resting Place: | Fatima Masumeh Shrine |
| Spouse: | [1] |
| Children: | 4 |
| Office: | Chairman of the Assembly of Experts |
| Term Start: | 10 March 2015 |
| Term End: | 24 May 2016 |
| Predecessor: | Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani |
| Successor: | Ahmad Jannati |
| Office1: | Chief Justice of Iran |
| Term Start1: | 15 August 1989 |
| Term End1: | 14 August 1999 |
| Appointer1: | Ali Khamenei |
| Predecessor1: | Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili |
| Successor1: | Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi |
| Office2: | Member of the Assembly of Experts |
| Term Start2: | 21 February 1991 |
| Term End2: | 23 May 2016 |
| Majority2: | 970,192 (4th assembly) |
| Constituency2: | Tehran Province |
| Office4: | Member of the Parliament of Iran |
| Term Start4: | 28 May 1984 |
| Term End4: | 27 May 1988 |
| Constituency4: | Tehran, Rey and Shemiranat |
| Majority4: | 156,049 (93.1%) |
| Term Start5: | 28 May 1980 |
| Term End5: | 27 May 1984 |
| Majority5: | 129,678 (83.1%) |
| Constituency5: | Qom |
| Office6: | Member of Assembly of Experts for the Constitution |
| Term Start6: | 19 August 1979 |
| Term End6: | 15 November 1979 |
| Constituency6: | Bakhtaran Province |
| Majority6: | 101,735 (46%) |
| Party: | Combatant Clergy Association Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom |
| Otherparty: | Islamic Republican Party (1979–1987) |
| Nationality: | Iranian |
| Native Name Lang: | fa |
Mohammad Yazdi (Persian: محمد یزدی; 2 July 1931 – 9 December 2020)[2] was an Iranian conservative and principlist cleric who served as the head of Judiciary System of Iran between 1989 and 1999. In 2015, he was elected to lead Iran's Assembly of Experts, defeating Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president, by a vote count of 47 to 24.[3]
Mohammad Yazdi was born in 1931 to a religious family at Isfahan. Sheikh Ali Yazdi, his father, was a student of Sheikh Abdul Karim Haeri and at one of the Isfahan mosques as chief mullah for Friday prayers and ceremonies investigated the people's problems.[4]
At first, Ayatollah Yazdi learned Persian language from his father and then went to Maktab. Also he departed to newly founded school to continue his education. When he went to Qom, he resided at the Feyziyeh School and learned religious courses from scholars such as Mohammad Ali Araki, Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Amoli, Ayatollah Shahroudi, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Borujerdi and Ruhollah Khomeini.[4]
Ayatollah Yazdi usually gave the lectures at mosques and house of scholars. Also he taught Morality course at the Feyziyeh School and discussed politic subjects.[5] Mohammad Yazdi was exiled by SAVAK many times to Bandar Lengeh, Bushehr and Rudbar.[4]
After Ayatollah Khamenei became leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Yazdi served as the president of the Supreme Court. He remained in the post for many years before being replaced by Muhammad Hashemi Shahroudi.[6] Yazdi was a member of the Assembly of Experts[7] and the Guardian Council. He served as the interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran.
This is some of the political career of Ayatollah Yazdi after The Islamic Revolution as follows:[5]
In the run-up to the February 2016 elections, Yazdi opposed bilateral relations with the United States.[9] In the popular election held in February 2016 for Assembly of Experts candidates, incumbent Chairman Yazdi was not among the 16 experts who received enough votes to represent Tehran in the Fifth Assembly of Experts.[10]
Many western media outlets pointed to Yazdi's exit from the Assembly when providing and emphasizing the gains that reformists made in the 2016 elections.[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] In a speech congratulating those elected to the Fifth Assembly of Experts, Yazdi advocated for peaceful, moderate relations with other countries, but went on to warn about dealing with enemies and characterized America as "The Great Satan".[16] Two days later, Fars News Agency reported the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei lamented the Assembly's loss of Yazdi as Chairman and warned of the risk that the West could influence or infiltrate Iran.[17] As of 9 May 2016, Yazdi remained on the Guardian Council,[18] which vets potential candidates for the Assembly of Experts. During Yazdi's tenure on the Guardian Council, human-rights organizations have criticized the Guardian Council's disqualification of reform candidates in the 2016 elections.[19] [20]
In February 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Yazdi for "preventing free and fair elections in Iran."[21]
Ayatollah Yazdi authored several books in English and Persian such as,[22] Your missing,[4] Answers of Mardooq's accusations[4] and Imamah in Shia Islam.[5]
Yazdi died on 9 December 2020.[23] He was buried in Qom later that day.[24]