Government & politics — Iran

• 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
• notable earlier dates: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid (Persian) Empire established)
• A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid Dynasty)
• 1794 (beginning of Qajar Dynasty)
• 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI Dynasty)

• history: previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979,
• effective 3 December 1979 amendments: proposed by the supreme leader – after consultation with the Exigency Council – and submitted as an edict to the "Council for Revision of the Constitution," a body consisting of various executive, legislative, judicial, and academic leaders and members; passage requires absolute majority vote in a referendum and approval of the supreme leader; articles including Iran’s political system, its religious basis, and its form of government cannot be amended; amended 1989

• mbly of Experts elects a permanent successor. The members are: President Masoud Pezeshkian, the reformist-leaning heart surgeon elected in 2024, who has emphasized economic recovery and limited social openings while remaining loyal to the Islamic Republic’s framework. Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, a hardline conservative appointed by Khamenei in 2021, with a long record in intelligence and judicial roles known for tough stances on dissent. Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a senior cleric and member of the Guardian Council, selected for the council role. Arafi, 67, serves as deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts and heads Iran’
• chief of state: Supreme Leade
• President Masoud PEZESHKIAN (since 30 July 2024) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over ap
• pointments to several ministries election/appointment process: supreme leader appointed for life by Assembly of Experts; president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term and
• an additional nonconsecutive term) most recent election date: 28 June 2024,
• with runoff held on 5 July 2024 election results: 2024: first round results - Masoud PEZESHKIAN (independent) 44.4%, Saeed JALILI (Front of Islamic Revolution Stability) 40.4%, Mohammad Baqer QAKIBAF (Progress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran) 14.3%, other 0.9%; second round results - Masoud PEZESHKIAN elected; Masoud PEZESHKIAN 54.8%, Saeed JALILI 45.2% 2021: Ebrahim RAISI elected president; percent of vote - Ebrahim RAISI (independent) 72.4%, Mohsen REZAI (RFII) 13.8%, Abbdolnaser HEMATI (ECP) 9.8%, Amir-Hosein Qazizadeh-HASHEMI (Islamic Law Party) 4%
• note: presidential election held early due to the death of President Ebrahim RAISI in a helicopter accident in May 2024

Description

unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami or Majles (290 seats; 285 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by multiple non-transferable vote in 2 rounds, 1 seat each for Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, Armenians in the north of the country and Armenians in the south; members serve 4-year terms);

Note

all candidates to the Majles must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a 12-member group of which 6 are appointed by the supreme leader and 6 are jurists nominated by the judiciary and elected by the Majles

Elections

• first round held on 1 March 2024 for 245 seats
• second round for 45 remaining seats to be held in May (next full Majles election to be held in 2028)

Election Results

• percent of vote by coalition in first round - NA
• seats by coalition in first round - conservatives and hardliners 200, other 45;

Composition

NA

• highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and organized into 42 two-bench branches, each w
• ith a justice and a judge) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the High Judicial Council (HJC), a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief justice, the prosecutor general, and 3 clergy, in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a single, renewable 5-year term; other judges appointed by the HJC;
• judge tenure NA subordinate courts: Penal Courts I and II; Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Courts of Peace; Special Clerical Court (functions outside the judicial system and handles cases involving clerics); military courts

• Combatant Clergy Association [Mostafa PURMOHAMMADI] (an active political group)
• Executives of Construction Party [Hossein MARASHI]
• Front of Islamic Revolutionary Stability [Sadegh MAHSULI, secretary general]
• Islamic Coalition Party [Asadollah BADAMCHIAN]
• Militant Clerics Society (Majma-e Ruhaniyoun-e Mobarez) or MRM [Mohammad Mousavi KHOEINIHA]
• Moderation and Development Party [Hassan RUHANI]
• National Trust Party (Hezb-e E'temad-eMelli) or HEM [Elias HAZRATI]
• Progress and Justice Society [Mohammad Saeed AHADIAN]
• Union of Islamic Iran People's Party (Hezb-e Ettehad-e Iran-e Eslami) [Azar MANSURI]

• no citizenship by descent only: the
• no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

embassy

none; the US Interests Section is located in the Embassy of Switzerland; US Foreign Interests Section, Embassy of Switzerland, Pasdaran, Shahid Mousavi Street (Golestan 5th), Corner of Paydarfard Street, No. 55, Tehran

chief of mission

none; Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Embassy of Pakistan, 1250 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037;

telephone

[1] (202) 965-4990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073; email: requests@daftar.org; info@daftarwashington.com; website: https://daftar.org/