Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

A Guide to the Politics of Iran

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• published: 03 Jul 2015
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We bring you a guide to the politics of Iran. Iran is a theocracy. According to its constitution, its laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria. The supreme leader (now Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) exerts ideological and political control over a system dominated by clerics who shadow every major function of the state. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the final say on major policy decisions, either directly or through a network of groups appointed by him. He also serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He picks six of the twelve members of the influential Guardian Council and appoints the head of the judiciary. Iran’s president is the country’s second-most important leader. Unlike the supreme leader, he is elected for four years and is limited to serving no more than two consecutive terms. While the president is often the public face of the Iranian government, his actual power is circumscribed by the constitution, which subordinates the executive branch to the supreme leader. Nonetheless, the president helps direct economic policies and social programs and represents Iran in many international forums. As Khamenei’s recent affirmations of Rouhani’s negotiating team exemplify, the supreme leader is not always opposed to delegating authority on national security matters. The Guardian Council is a powerful body that oversees the activities of Parliament and determines which candidates are qualified to run for public office. It consists of 12 experts in Islamic law, six of them appointed by the supreme leader and six nominated by the judiciary and approved by Iran’s Parliament. These 12 theologians can veto parliamentary bills considered to be in violation of Iran’s constitution. Iran’s Parliament, sometimes called the Majlis, is a unicameral legislature comprised of 290 members who are elected to four-year terms. Parliamentarians draft legislation and approve the country’s budget. However, Parliament is held in check by the Guardian Council, whose members examine all laws passed by Parliament to determine their compatibility with Islamic law. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), formed after the 1979 revolution to protect the regime against external and internal threats, is the country’s premier security institution, distinct from Iran’s military. It is subject to the direct purview of the supreme leader, though Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari oversees the organization’s day-to-day matters. The IRGC reaches every town through its oversight of the Basij, local volunteer paramilitary units comprising mostly young Iranian men. The Guards preside over a vast power structure and are generally loyal to hard-line elements in the regime, though it is not a monolithic organization. The President presides over the Supreme National Security Council—roughly equivalent to the National Security Council in the United States—though in practice the supreme leader dictates all security. In September 2013, President Rouhani shifted responsibility for Iran’s nuclear negotiations from the Supreme National Security Council to the Foreign Ministry, making Foreign Minister Javad Zarif the chief nuclear negotiator. Rear Admiral Ali Shamkani serves as the council’s current secretary. The Expediency Council, created in 1988 to resolve stalemates between Parliament and the Guardian Council, is a powerful advisory body to the supreme leader. The Assembly of Experts, composed of 86 clerics elected for an eight-year term, appoints the supreme leader and has the power to remove him if he is deemed incapable of fulfilling his duties.