Houman A Sadri. Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Editor: Karen Christensen & David Levinson. Volume 3, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2002.
Constitutionally speaking, Iran is a theocratic republic in which the state and religion are closely intertwined. The Iranian system, which is based on Islamic law, was approved by a referendum in December 1979, soon after the success of the revolution that deposed Mohammad Reza Shah Phalavi (1919-1980), Iran’s last shah (1941-1979). Before the constitution was publicly voted on, it was first modified by the Assembly of Experts, which worked on the draft provided by the provisional government established by Ayatollah Khomeini (1900-1989). Another referendum followed ten years later added forty-five amendments to the constitution. A significant change was the removal of the role of the prime minister within the government. Another major change modified the criteria for selecting the faqih (spiritual leader). The criteria were revised in order to allow the Assembly of Experts to choose Ali Hussein Khamanei (b. 1939) as faqih when Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989 even though Khamanei was considered relatively junior at that time (his religious title was only Hojjat al-Islam) with respect to religious scholastic requirements for the role.
Religious Oversight of the Government
The Iranian government has three branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary. However, there are several religious bodies that oversee these branches. The main religious authority is the faqih, who is a recognized religious scholar selected by the Assembly of Experts. The idea is that the faqih rules during the absence from earth of the Twelfth Imam, who, according to the main sect of Shiʿa Islam, will return one day to bring salvation, peace, and prosperity to the community of believers. The faqih‘s task is to ensure that the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches comply with the tenets of Islam; thus, he is given considerable powers. For instance, he can declare war or peace based on the recommendation of the Supreme Defense Council, half of whose membership he appoints. The faqih commands the military and security forces of Iran. He also appoints the office of the supreme judge and chief of the general staff as well as half the members of the Guardians Council, a council that determines whether laws proposed in the majlis respect the tenets of Islam and are in the spirit of the constitution. In addition, the faqih reserves the right to question any candidate’s bid for the presidency.
Ayatollah Khomeini always used this right and often prevented candidates from running when he felt they had positions contrary to the ideals of the Islamic Republic. The faqih has the authority as well to impeach an elected president if either the supreme court or the majlis (parliament) finds the president shirking his responsibilities or violating the principles of Islam. This actually happened to the first elected president of the Islamic Republic, Bani Sadr. He was impeached because he constantly clashed with the prime minister of the time, Rajai.
The Assembly of Experts is another religious body that oversees the functions of the government. It is composed solely of clerics elected by the people. The first Assembly was elected in 1982, and succeeded by a second in 1990.
The Executive Branch
The president heads the executive branch of government and is elected for a four-year term. Currently, the president is Mohammed Khatami (b. 1943), whose election in 1997 marked a significant shift in the attitude of the people toward a more moderate system. He succeeded former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (b. 1934). The president has the authority to select his cabinet called the Council of Ministers, but his appointments must be approved by the majlis before they can take effect.
An Election Supervisory Council manages all the election procedures. Anyone fifteen and over can vote. The minimum voting age used to be twenty but was no doubt modified due to the youthful orientation of the population. Women were given the right to vote in 1963.
The Legislative Branch
Legislation is the jurisdiction of the 270 members of the majlis, who are elected for four-year terms. Lively debate occurs on the floor of the majlis as there is ample variety of opinion concerning economic, political, and social topics. Essentially there are three camps of thought nestled within the majlis: conservatives, radicals, and moderates.
Conservatives, mainly comprising the religious community and the bazaar merchants, closely follow the party line and tend to be xenophobic and wary of outside influences, particularly those of the West. They are also orthodox in the cultural application of Islamic principles, such as establishing a dress code for men and women and keeping a tight rein on the media and what it is allowed to depict. The conservatives were clearly setting the political agenda when the Islamic Republic was first established in 1979. The radicals (or followers of Imam Khomeini’s line) make up another faction; they support programs for the disadvantaged classes of society. They favor fair methods of distribution of income as well as keeping a watchful eye on the private sector. They are more progressive in their social programs than the conservatives, but share their fear of the encroachment of Western ideals and dependency on foreign power. The radicals have long been present in the majlis and often debate issues of land reform and nationalization of industries. However, their influence was the strongest during the 1980s. The radicals mainly comprise students and members of such organizations as The Bureau for the Promotion of Unity and the Young Combatant Clerics. The moderates, also known as the centrists or pragmatists, form the last major faction. They are made up of the middle class—professionals and bureaucrats—and are more open to outside ideas and to liberalization policies. They believe in coexisting peacefully in the world and are not threatened by outside influences. The moderates took center stage in the last part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, as evidenced by Khatami’s election to the presidency in 1997 and the landslide victory by the moderates in the 2000 majlis elections.
When the majlis passes a bill, it is reviewed by the Guardians Council to ensure its acceptability. The Guardians Council consists of twelve lawyers, six of whom are clerics appointed by the faqih, and six appointed by the High Council of the Judiciary and approved by the Assembly of Experts. The Guardians Council has often used its right to reject any bill proposed by the majlis, in particular bills relating to land reform and nationalization. When a bill is rejected by the Guardians Council, it is sent back to the majlis for revision. In February 1988 a committee called the Committee to Determine the Expediency of the Islamic Order was formed to mediate disputes that arise between the majlis and the Guardians Council. This committee was legitimized by the constitution in July of 1989.
The Judiciary
The judiciary is composed of a Supreme Court, with five justices, and lower criminal and civil courts. Clerics are tried in a special clerical court; people facing charges of treason against the Islamic Republic are tried in revolutionary tribunals. Judges are required to be members of the Islamic clergy and their judicial decisions must be rooted in Islamic law. A minister of justice operates as the liaison between the three branches of government.
Freedom of the Press and Political Parties
The constitution provides for freedom of press except in cases where the press undermines Islamic ideals—a clause responsible for Iranian strained relations with the United Kingdom. Iran actually cut off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom in March 1989 because a British company published Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses, which was perceived to be against Islamic values. It took over a year for full diplomatic relations to be reinstated.
The same criteria of adhering to Islamic values is applied with respect to the creation of political parties and associations as well as religious institutions. Islam is listed as the official religion of Iran in the constitution. The sect that is followed is Twelver Shi’a, the dominant Shi’a sect. Other Muslim sects are recognized and represented in the government. Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians have the status of lawful religious minorities. However, the Baha’is are not considered a recognized religious minority; they are not allowed representation in the majlis and their behavior is restricted by the government.
Iran’s best-known political party was the Islamic Republican Party (IRP), which was created in 1978 and led by Ayatollah Khomeini. It was instrumental in the unfolding of the Islamic Revolution and became the ruling party after the Islamic Revolution’s success. But Khomeini disbanded the IRP in June 1987 under pressure by the other political parties.
Other political parties that have played a part in Iranian history are the Liberation Movement of Iran, the Union of National Front Forces, the National Democratic Front, the Muslim People’s Republican Party, the Party of the Masses, the Communist Party of Iran, the Party of the Toilers, the Kurdish Democratic Party, and the People’s Mujahidin Organizaton of Iran. Parties may be subject to harassment if they criticize the government. For example, the Liberation Movement of Iran that was founded by Mehdi Bazargan, the first prime minister of the provisional government of the Islamic Republic, often found its offices ransacked due to its criticisms of the government, even though the government tolerated the party’s existence and permitted it representation in the majlis. Other parties are not as fortunate. The Party of the Masses, a pro-Soviet Communist party, was banned in 1983. The Kurdish Democratic Party was prohibited in 1979. Some political parties are organized by Iranians who live abroad and are working to change the system of government. For instance, the Muslim People’s Republican Party would like to see a secular government in Iran rather than a theocracy.
Other political groups are violent in nature and use terrorist tactics against the government, which in turn responds with force. Such radical groups include the People’s Mujahidin Organization of Iran, Warriors of the People, the Forghan Group, and Black Wednesday. The first group originally supported the Islamic Republic and had been known for carrying out assassinations against the shah’s regime and the U.S. government, but in the early 1980s a shift occurred within the organization and its members began attacking the current regime.
The recent liberalization of policies and the shift toward moderation have allowed the formation and activities of several new political parties, including Executives of Construction, Islamic Iran Solidarity Party, and the Islamic Partnership Front.
Regarding human rights, the Iranian constitution provides for the basic rights of individuals in Articles 19 through 42. But Iran is not considered a free nation by Western standards. At the start of the new republic, the revolutionary regime showed little regard for human rights. Quick trials and executions of opponents were frequent; newspapers could be closed or ransacked at a moment’s notice. However, when conditions stabilized, Khomeini issued an eight-point statement, which prohibited such acts of censorship and illegal entries into homes. Although some abuses continue, conditions have significantly improved and there is a structure in place to correct the abuses. Currently, the Iranian electorate is pursuing more rights and reforms.
The Military
Iran has four military and security forces: the regular armed forces, the Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards), the Basij (militia), and the police. The army, navy, and air force are the components of the regular armed forces, which were heavily purged after the revolution. The Pasdaran were created with the formation of the Islamic Republic to protect the revolution, because the Ayatollah was suspicious of the loyalty of the regular forces, which had been trained by U.S. advisers in the shah’s era. The Pasdaran were largely responsible for the purging of the shah’s regime as well as opponents of the new government. Both the regular armed forces and the Revolutionary Guards are responsible for defending the country if threatened by a foreign power. The Basij is called upon when the government is threatened by violence.
Local Government and the Civil Service
Iran is divided into twenty-five ostans (provinces). The anjumans (provincial councils) are slowly but surely expanding their power base. The provinces are further divided into 195 shahrestans (counties), then into 500 bakhshes (districts), and finally into 1,581 deshitans (groups of villages). Respectively, each level is commanded by ostandars, farmandars, bakhshadars, and dehdars. Individual villages are run by kadkhodas (headmen). Mayors and councils are either elected or appointed by the Ministry of Interior to run the towns and cities.
Iran has a civil service in place that still operates according to codes established in 1922 and 1966. It contains seven grade levels with fifteen in-grade steps between each grade level. To become a civil servant requires taking an entrance exam. There are over 700,000 civil servants in Iran.
The Future
The trend toward moderation demonstrated by the 2000 majlis elections was encouraging. Despite preelection crackdowns on the media, the will of the people was respected. Only time will tell how the volatility in the Middle East brought about by the U.S. responses to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks will affect Iran’s political system.