How Iran governs itself

Iran's system of government is not quite a democracy, nor a  theocracy. Founding Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini  developed its animating doctrine, known as guardianship of the  jurist, in the years before the Islamic Republic’s establishment in  1979. Khomeini posited that a just government was possible if  religious scholars sat atop it to ensure consistency with Islamic  law. This system was put into place with a constitutional  referendum after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The organs of a  modern republic—a unicameral legislature (the majlis), an  executive led by the president, and a judiciary—were enveloped  by a clerical system. (Most of Iran’s clerical hierarchy, however,  remains outside this official structure, based in Qom rather than  the capital, Tehran.) 

Regime hard-liners have further consolidated power across these  institutions in recent years. They won control of parliament in the  2020 and 2024 elections, neither of which were considered free or  fair. 

Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment has prompted some experts  and the Iranian public to speculate that he could continue many  of the late Khamenei’s oppressive policies, given his links to the  existing establishment. According to analysts, Iranian dissidents,  and leaked US diplomatic cables, the hard-line cleric had been an  influential figure in his father’s regime. Several news outlets  report that he maintains close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary  Guards Corps, which he joined from 1987–88 during the Iran-Iraq  war. Yet, other analysts contend that Mojtaba could take a more  pragmatic approach to reach consensus among hard-liners and  reformists. |
Structure of the Iranian Regime 

One factor that has remained constant throughout Iran’s modern  history is the ultimate authority of the supreme leader, the  guardian jurist who is effectively Iran’s leader for life, per the  constitution. Iran’s constitution designates the office as head of  state and affords it vast control under the theory that political  authority springs from religious authority. Article 110 of Iran’s  constitution outlines the position’s major powers. They include  setting national policies and supervising their implementation, as  well as commanding the armed forces and appointing military  chiefs and the heads of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  (IRGC) and police. Khomeini’s successor, Ali Khamenei, has  reportedly influenced the selection of ministers of defense,  intelligence, and foreign affairs, as well as science, a sensitive post  charged with appointing the heads of universities. Khamenei  served as president and as commander of the IRGC before  becoming supreme leader until his death in February 2026. 

The supreme leader’s authority is not absolute, however. He is  elected by the Assembly of Experts, a body of eighty-eight directly  elected jurists who are constitutionally mandated with overseeing  the supreme leader. In practice, however, they carry out oversight  in a secret committee, and it is unclear whether they have ever  sought to meaningfully check either Khomeini or Khamenei. 

Khamenei’s death triggered the Assembly’s search for Iran’s next  leader, a task that has only been conducted once since the Islamic  Republic was established in 1979. According to the constitution,  the new supreme leader must be a male cleric with religious  expertise and political competence, as well as someone who  possesses moral authority and is loyal to the Islamic Republic.  Mojtaba Khamenei became an ayatollah in 2022, achieving the  highest clerical rank after more than a decade of seminary  teaching and securing himself a position in Iran’s power circles. 

There are also informal constraints on the supreme leader. The  position is considered both an arbiter of Iranian politics and a  source of emulation, so his direction is meant to both set the  course for the republic but also reflect broader consensus among  elites. Meanwhile, the supreme leader relies as much on typical  instruments of political power – control of media outlets,  patronage, and so on – as the religious trappings of his office to  influence government and society. 

Answering to the supreme leader is the president, who serves as  head of government. (Neither office is specifically reserved for  men, though no woman has ever been permitted to seek these  seats by the regime-aligned electoral authority.) Eligible for a  maximum of two four-year terms, the president is charged with  executing the country’s laws, setting policy within parameters set  by the supreme leader, and conducting diplomacy on the state’s  behalf. They nominate members of the cabinet, who must be  confirmed by the parliament. They also propose the budget,  which must then be passed under the normal legislative process.

The parliament, or majlis, has 290 seats. Its members are directly  elected to four-year terms by geographic district, with five seats  set aside for religious minorities. The share of clerics holding  seats in it has declined—down from more than 50 percent in 1980  to 5.5 percent in 2020—while the number associated with the  Revolutionary Guards has increased. As the unicameral  legislature, it has broad lawmaking authority. 

The Guardian Council is charged with determining whether the  laws parliament passes are permissible under the constitution and  Islamic precepts. Half of the council’s twelve members are  theologians appointed by the supreme leader; the other half are  legal scholars selected by the parliament. The Guardian Council  also qualifies candidates for the Assembly of Experts, presidency,  and parliament, giving it great influence in setting the parameters  of Iranian electoral democracy. In the 2016 general elections, the  body approved just half of the declared candidates for parliament  and one-fifth of those for the Assembly of Experts. It has often  weeded out reformist candidates for office. For example, in each  presidential election since 2017, it has disqualified Mahmoud  Ahmadinejad, the firebrand ex-president who had clashed with  Khamenei while in office. 

Another body, the Expediency Council, mediates between the  parliament and Guardian Council. It was established by decree in  1988 before being added to the constitution in an amendment the  following year. The supreme leader, who appoints the council’s  members to five-year terms, has since delegated to it the  authority to supervise the government. This body is another  avenue through which the supreme leader can choose to exercise  closer authority over the government. 

The Supreme National Security Council is led by the president  and includes the parliamentary speaker and chief justice—that is,  the heads of all three branches of government. Also on the  council are military chiefs and the ministers of state, foreign  affairs, and intelligence, as well as two personal representatives of  the supreme leader; thus, it includes appointees of both the  president and supreme leader. Its constitutional writ is broad; it is  charged with setting a wide range of policies that touch on  defense and security, responding to threats both foreign and  domestic.

‘The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Power Centers’ can be viewed at  https://www.cfr.org/articles/islamic-republics-power-centers  

This is published with the permission of the Council for Foreign Relations. For  more analysis and articles on Iran visit: CFR.org