Iran’s government works as a theocratic republic layered on top of an electoral system: an unelected Supreme Leader holds ultimate authority over the military, judiciary, security services, and state media, while a directly elected president and parliament handle civil administration within limits set by religious oversight bodies. The framework comes from the 1979 Constitution, built around the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, the principle that a senior Islamic jurist guides the nation to keep government actions aligned with Islamic law. A 1989 revision eliminated the prime minister’s office, expanded the Supreme Leader’s constitutional powers, and created the Expediency Council to resolve legislative deadlocks.
Article 57 of the constitution makes the hierarchy explicit: the legislature, judiciary, and executive all function “under the supervision of the absolute” authority of the Supreme Leader.1Constitute Project. Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1979 (rev. 1989) Iran’s branches check each other while all answering upward to a single religious authority. That distinction is the key to everything else.
The Supreme Leader
The Supreme Leader, often called the Rahbar, is the most powerful figure in Iran. Article 110 grants him authority that overrides every other branch. He is commander-in-chief of all armed forces, with direct control over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular military, and he appoints and dismisses senior military commanders.2Columbia International Affairs Online. Iranian Government Constitution – The Leader or Leadership Council
His appointment power reaches deep into the state. He directly selects the head of the judiciary, the six theologians on the Guardian Council, the head of state broadcasting, and the members of the Expediency Council. He places two personal representatives on the Supreme National Security Council. He can pardon or reduce sentences on a recommendation from the head of the judiciary.3The Office of the Supreme Leader. Leadership in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran He can also dismiss a sitting president after the Supreme Court finds the president guilty of violating his constitutional duties, or after parliament votes him incompetent.2Columbia International Affairs Online. Iranian Government Constitution – The Leader or Leadership Council
The Leader’s economic reach runs through a network of bonyads, large opaque foundations controlled by clerics and officials that report to his office. They receive tax exemptions and government benefits but are not required to publish budgets. Bonyad Mostazafan alone accounts for over one percent of Iran’s GDP.4U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Targets Vast Supreme Leader Patronage Network and Iran’s Minister of Intelligence These bodies function as a parallel financial system answering to the Leader rather than to elected officials.
Article 176 establishes the Supreme National Security Council, chaired by the president and composed of the heads of all three branches, senior military officials, and the Leader’s two representatives.5International Commission of Jurists. Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran The president runs it on paper. In practice, its decisions become binding only after the Supreme Leader approves them, which gives him a final veto over major security and foreign policy calls.
The President and the Executive Branch
The president is the second-highest official and runs the executive branch. Voters elect the president directly for a four-year term, with one consecutive re-election allowed. Candidates must be of Iranian origin with Iranian citizenship, must demonstrate honesty and piety, and must show loyalty to the principles of the Islamic Republic and its official faith.6President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Functions The Guardian Council narrows the candidate field well before voters see a ballot.
Day-to-day, the president manages the national budget, appoints cabinet ministers subject to parliamentary approval, represents Iran at international forums, and signs treaties after the legislature ratifies them. He also directs long-term economic planning. These are real powers with tangible consequences, particularly on inflation, subsidies, and trade policy.
The president does not control the military, the intelligence services, or state broadcasting. When executive policy conflicts with the Supreme Leader’s directives, the president defers. Provincial governors are appointed by the president and serve as the main link between the central government and Iran’s 31 provinces.
The Islamic Consultative Assembly
Iran’s parliament, known as the Majlis, is a single-chamber legislature with 290 seats.7Inter-Parliamentary Union. Iran (Islamic Republic of) – Islamic Parliament of Iran Members are elected every four years by popular vote. Five seats are constitutionally reserved for recognized religious minorities: one each for Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, Armenian Christians of the north, and Armenian Christians of the south. The minimum voting age for all national elections is 18.
Under Article 71, the Majlis can legislate on any subject within the limits the constitution sets.8ECNL. Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran That covers commercial regulations, social policy, and the annual budget. International treaties require the Majlis’s approval under Article 77.9Constitute Project. Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1979 (rev. 1989) – Article 77 Members can question cabinet ministers and remove any of them through a no-confidence vote.
Here the Majlis hits its ceiling. Every law it passes must go to the Guardian Council for religious and constitutional review. The Majlis proposes; the Guardian Council disposes.
The Guardian Council
The Guardian Council is the most powerful unelected body in Iran’s legislative process. Twelve members serve six-year terms, with half replaced every three years. Six are Islamic theologians chosen directly by the Supreme Leader. The other six are jurists nominated by the head of the judiciary and then elected by the Majlis from that pool.10University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran – Article 91 Because the Supreme Leader appoints the head of the judiciary who controls the nominee pool, the Leader’s influence touches all twelve seats.
The council reviews every bill the Majlis passes and can veto any legislation it finds incompatible with Islamic law or the constitution. When a bill is rejected, the Majlis can revise and resubmit, but the Guardian Council gets the last word. If neither side moves, the dispute goes to the Expediency Council.
Candidate Vetting
Article 99 grants the Guardian Council supervisory authority over all elections: presidential, parliamentary, Assembly of Experts, and referendums.11Iran Data Portal. Interpretation of Article 99 In practice, “supervisory authority” means the council decides who can run. It vets every candidate and can disqualify anyone it deems unfit based on loyalty to the Islamic Republic, religious belief, moral character, and political record. These decisions are final and cannot be appealed through regular courts.
This vetting power is the single most consequential tool for shaping Iranian politics. By controlling who appears on the ballot, the Guardian Council fixes the range of choices voters have before a single vote is cast. Elections with dozens of disqualified candidates are common.
The Assembly of Experts
The Assembly of Experts is an 88-member body of senior clerics elected by the public for eight-year terms. Its most important job is selecting a new Supreme Leader when the position becomes vacant through death, resignation, or removal. Under Article 111, if the Leader dies or steps down, the Assembly must move quickly to name a successor. Until then, a temporary council made up of the president, the head of the judiciary, and one Guardian Council jurist chosen by the Expediency Council takes on the Leader’s duties.12Constitute Project. Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1979 (rev. 1989) – Article 111
The Assembly also has the constitutional authority to supervise the Supreme Leader’s performance and can, in theory, remove him if he becomes incapable of fulfilling his duties or fails to meet the constitutional qualifications for the office. In practice, that power has never been exercised. The Assembly meets twice a year, its members must clear the Guardian Council’s vetting to run for election, and challenging a sitting Supreme Leader is essentially unthinkable. The body matters enormously during a succession and very little at other times.
The Expediency Discernment Council
When the Majlis and the Guardian Council deadlock, the Expediency Council breaks the tie. Article 112 establishes this body and gives the Supreme Leader authority to convene it whenever the Guardian Council rejects a bill and the Majlis cannot satisfy the objections.13Constitute Project. Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1979 (rev. 1989) – Article 112 The Leader appoints all members, who serve five-year terms and are typically former presidents, senior clerics, and military commanders.
The council also advises the Leader on long-term national strategy. He can refer any issue to it for deliberation. Because he appoints its members and sets its agenda, its resolutions tend to reflect his preferences.
The Judiciary
The head of the judiciary is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader for a five-year term and is the highest judicial authority in the country.14University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran – Article 157 This official manages the entire court system, oversees the appointment of judges, and nominates the jurist candidates for the Guardian Council. The judiciary is constitutionally independent of the legislature and executive, but the Leader’s appointment power over its chief keeps the branch inside his sphere of influence.
The court system has several tracks. Public courts handle ordinary civil and criminal cases. Revolutionary courts, created after the 1979 revolution, handle national security, drug trafficking, political offenses, and actions deemed hostile to the state. They operate under different procedural rules and can impose severe sentences, including lengthy imprisonment and capital punishment. Iran’s Islamic Penal Code includes offenses such as “sowing corruption on earth,” which carries the death penalty and has been applied to a wide range of conduct including political dissent.
The Supreme Court is the highest appellate body. A separate General Inspection Organization investigates corruption and administrative misconduct within government agencies. There is also a Special Clerical Court that handles cases involving members of the clergy, operates outside the regular judicial framework, answers only to the Supreme Leader, and conducts proceedings largely in secret. It can defrock clerics and impose sentences including imprisonment and execution.
The Revolutionary Guard’s Role in Governance
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was created to protect the revolution, but it has grown into something far broader than a military force. Its founding statute places it directly under the Supreme Leader’s command and charges it with defending the Islamic Republic’s “achievements” through military operations and civilian mobilization.15Iran Data Portal. Constitution of the Revolutionary Guards
The IRGC runs a large construction and engineering arm, Khatam al-Anbiya, that dominates infrastructure projects in energy, transportation, and telecommunications, often through no-bid government contracts. This gives the organization financial independence and political weight beyond its military mission. Former IRGC commanders regularly move into cabinet positions and provincial governorships.
The IRGC also operates its own intelligence organization, a more ideologically driven counterpart to the civilian Ministry of Intelligence, and reporting suggests it often overshadows the ministry on domestic surveillance and suppression of dissent. Internationally, the Quds Force handles operations abroad. The Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force organized under the IRGC, handles ideological mobilization, provides military training to civilians, and has been deployed for internal crowd control and social enforcement.15Iran Data Portal. Constitution of the Revolutionary Guards The IRGC also serves as bailiff for the judiciary in matters tied to its security missions.
Local and Provincial Government
Below the national level, Iran is divided into 31 provinces, each headed by a governor appointed by the president. Governors serve as the central government’s administrative link to their regions, implementing national policy locally.
At the city and village level, Iranians elect local Islamic councils, with elections held in over 1,300 cities and roughly 40,000 villages. Candidates must be at least 25 years old, hold Iranian citizenship, and demonstrate commitment to the constitution and the principle of velayat-e faqih. These councils handle local governance and select the mayors of their cities, providing one of the more direct forms of democratic participation in the system. Council candidates still pass through vetting, and the councils operate within the framework set by the national government and, ultimately, the Supreme Leader. The structure mirrors the national pattern: elections give citizens a voice, but that voice operates within boundaries set by unelected religious authorities.