Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei

Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei (born 1961) is an Iranian legal scholar and academic serving as secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council since May 2026. He is full professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran. He previously served as legal expert member and spokesperson of the Guardian Council holding office for four consecutive terms from the council's fourth to seventh terms.

Early life and education

Kadkhodaei was born in Isfahan, Iran. He obtained his law bachelor's degree in 1986 at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran. Following graduation, he worked at the then Ministry of Revolutionary Guards. After the end of the Iran–Iraq War, he went to the United Kingdom in 1992 where he done his master's in international law from the University of Hull. He later completed a doctorate in the same field at the University of Leeds in 1997. After returning to Iran, Kadkhodaei joined the faculty of the University of Tehran.

Career

Following nomination by heads of the judiciary and approval by the Iranian parliament, he was appointed as one of the six legal expert members of the Guardian Council. He later became the council's spokesperson and deputy secretary.

Kadkhodaei has also headed the Guardian Council Research Institute. In August 2011, he was appointed by the supreme leader as a member of the High Council for Resolving Disputes and Regulating Relations Among the Three Branches of Government, a position that was renewed in 2016. In June 2016, by appointment from Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, he became advisor and head of the Office of the Assembly of Experts. In May 2026, he was appointed as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.

Kadkhodaei has held several positions throughout his career, including, advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also headed a special committee formed following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in 2022.

In 2025, the government of Iran nominated him as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. However, his nomination was subsequently criticised by Hana, a human rights organisations focused on documenting human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan.

He has published numerous books and academic articles in the fields of constitutional law, international law, and human rights, and has served as head of the Institute for Public Law Studies at the University of Tehran. He also writes for newspapers including, Al Jazeera English, The New Arab, and Tehran Times.

Sanctions

Kadkhodaei has been sanctioned by multiple governments in connection with his official activities in Iran. In 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of Treasury imposed sanctions citing his role in the electoral process, particularly decisions related to candidate disqualifications that, according to U.S. authorities, undermined electoral competitiveness. In 2022, Canadian Department of Justice included him in sanctions targeting Iranian officials accused of involvement in human rights abuses.