Politics 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", although it "holds regular elections in which candidates who advocate different policies and incumbents are frequently defeated". Iran was evaluated as an electoral autocracy for year 2024 by V-Dem Institute according to Regimes of the World classification.

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), and it combines elements of theocracy (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) with a presidential system in a religious democracy. Iran directly elects the president, parliament (Majles) and the Assembly of Experts. 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. Indirectly elected are the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and the Guardian Council, half of which is made up of Islamic jurists. In addition, there are representatives from appointed organizations, usually under the Supreme Leader's control, to "protect the state's Islamic character". The Supreme Leader is the head of state, above the president.

In 1979, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by an Islamic Revolution in Iran, replacing its millennia-old monarchy with a theocratic republic. Shortly after, the leader of the Revolution, a senior Islamic jurist named Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, also transliterated Khumaynî, successfully supported referendums to declare Iran an Islamic Republic in March 1979, and to approve a constitution in December 1979, whereby "the Islamic government" would be "based upon wilayat al-faqih", (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) "as proposed by Imam Khumaynî", quoting the preamble of the constitution.

The constitution (which was drafted by an assembly made up primarily by disciples of Khomeini), calls for a Vali-ye faqih (Guardian Islamic Jurist), to serve as the Supreme Leader of Iran, and for Islamic jurists to serve in other powerful institutions such as the Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts.

Guardianship of the Jurist is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law, which holds that, in the absence of the "Infallible Imam", who, according to Twelver beliefs, is the religious and political leader of Islam and will reappear sometime before Judgement Day, righteous Shi'i jurists (faqīh) should administer "some" of the "religious and social affairs" of the Shi'i community. In its "absolute" form—the form advanced by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the basis of government in Islamic Republic of Iran—the state and society are ruled by an Islamic jurist. Khomeini served as the Guardian Jurist Supreme Leader of Iran until his death in 1989. His successor, Ali Khamenei, is still ruling as of mid 2025.

In a 1970 book on the subject circulated to his network of supporters, Khomeini argued that since Islamic sharia law contains everything needed to rule a state, whether ancient or modern, any other basis of governance will lead to injustice and sin. Thus Iran, the Muslim world and eventually the whole world, must be ruled according to sharia, and the person who should rule according to sharia, is an expert in that form of law.

These Guardians are deemed the true holders of both religious and political authority, who must be obeyed as "an expression of obedience to God", and whose rule has "precedence over all secondary ordinances in Islam such as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage."

The early days of the revolutionary government were characterized by political tumult. In November 1979, the US embassy was seized and its occupants taken hostage and kept captive for 444 days, because of US support for the Shah (monarch) of Iran. The eight-year Iran–Iraq War killed hundreds of thousands and cost the country billions of dollars. By the early 1980s, power struggles ended in leftists and nationalists eliminated from all governmental institutions, and the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini and his supporters firmly in control.