Back سياسة إيران Arabic İranın dövlət quruluşu Azerbaijani Държавно устройство на Иран Bulgarian ইরানের রাজনীতি Bengali/Bangla Irans politik Danish Politisches System des Iran German Política de Irán Spanish سیاست در ایران Persian Politique en Iran French פוליטיקה של איראן HE
Islamic Republic of Iran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | Islamic Consultative Assembly |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Meeting place | Baharestan, Tehran |
| Presiding officer | Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker |
| Executive branch | |
| Head of government | |
| Title | President |
| Currently | Masoud Pezeshkian |
| Appointer | Direct popular vote |
| Head of state and government | |
| Title | Supreme Leader |
| Currently | Ali Khamenei |
| Appointer | Assembly of Experts |
| Cabinet | |
| Name | Cabinet of Iran |
| Current cabinet | Cabinet of Masoud Pezeshkian |
| Leader | President |
| Deputy leader | Vice President |
| Appointer | President |
| Headquarters | Presidential Administration of Iran, Sa'dabad Complex |
| Ministries | 19 |
| Judicial branch | |
| Name | Judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran |
| Courts | Courts of Iran |
| Supreme Court | |
| Chief judge | Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i |
| Seat | Courthouse of Tehran |
|
|---|
| Government of Islamic Republic of Iran |
The politics of Iran takes place in the framework of an Islamic theocracy which was formed following the overthrow of Iran's millennia-long monarchy by the 1979 Revolution. Iran's system of government (nezam) was described by Juan José Linz in 2000 as combining "the ideological bent of totalitarianism with the limited pluralism of authoritarianism".[1] Although it "holds regular elections in which candidates who advocate different policies and incumbents are frequently defeated",[1] Iran scored lower than Saudi Arabia in the 2021 Democracy Index, determined by the Economist Intelligence Unit.[2]
The December 1979 constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, declares that Shia Islam is Iran's state religion (around 90–95% of Iranians associate themselves with the Shia branch of Islam),[3] and it combines elements of theocracy (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) with a presidential system. Like many Western democracies, Iran has a president and a parliament (Majles). Unlike other Western or Islamic governments, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is supervised by a supreme leader, and an appointed and unelected Guardian Council half of which is made up of Islamic jurists.
The Supreme Leader is the head of state, above the president. According to Karim Sadjadpour he either has direct or indirect control of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, as well as the military and the media. Iran's president, a parliament (e.g. Majlis), an Assembly of Experts, which elects the supreme leader, and local councils are all elected. All candidates who run for these positions must be vetted by the Guardian Council (which disqualifies the overwhelming majority of the candidates) for their loyalty to the Islamic Republic's system of government.[4] In 1998, the Guardian Council rejected Hadi Khamenei's candidacy for a seat in the Assembly of Experts for "insufficient theological qualifications".[5][6] In addition, there are representatives elected from appointed organizations, usually under the Supreme Leader's control, to "protect the state's Islamic character".[7]
- ^ a b Juan José Linz, Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes (Lynne Rienner, 2000), p. 36. Archived 2020-07-26 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Democracy Index 2021: the China challenge" (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit. 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 May 2024.
- ^ "The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Muir, Jim (12 January 2000). "Khamenei's brother attacks reformist purge". BBC News. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
- ^ A. William Samii (17 January 2000). "Candidates rejected and Guardians Criticized". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Iran Report. Retrieved 28 July 2009 – via GlobalSecurity.org.
- ^ "Iranian Elections, 1997-2001". PBS. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
- ^ IRAN: POLITICS, THE MILITARY AND GULF SECURITY Archived 15 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine by Darius Bazargan, v.1, n.3, September 1997