1.
Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
2.
Supreme Leader of Iran
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The armed forces, judicial system, state television, and other key governmental organizations are under the control of the Supreme Leader of Iran. Khamenei also makes the decisions on the amount of transparency in elections in Iran. This post was established by the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran in accordance with the concept of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist. The title Supreme Leader is often used as a sign of respect, however, this terminology is not found in the Constitution, which simply referred to the Leader. The Supreme Leader is more powerful than the President of Iran and appoints the heads of many posts in the military, the civil government. Originally Irans constitution stated that the Supreme Leader must be a Marja-e taqlid, however, in 1989, the constitution was amended to require simply Islamic scholarship of the leader, i. e. the leader could be a lower ranking cleric. In theory, the Supreme Leader is appointed and supervised by the Assembly of Experts, all candidates to the Assembly of Experts, the President and the Majlis, are selected by the Guardian Council, whose members are selected by the Supreme Leader of Iran. As such, the Assembly has never questioned the Supreme Leader, there have been instances when the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has publicly criticized members of the Assembly of Experts, resulting in their arrest and dismissal. For example, Khamenei publicly called then-member of the Assembly of Experts Ahmad Azari Qomi a traitor, resulting in Ahmad Azari Qomis arrest, there has also been instances where the Guardian Council reversed its ban for particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei. The Supreme Leader is the commander-in-chief of the forces and the provisional Head of the three branches of the state. He appoints and oversees the offices, the President and may also together with a two third majority of the Parliament impeach him. The Chief Justice for a term of 8 years, the members of the Expediency Discernment Council for a term of 5 years,6 of the 12 Members of the Guardian Council from among the members of the Council of Experts the other 6 are chosen by the Parliament. In March 1979, shortly after Ruhollah Khomeini’s return from exile and the overthrow of Irans monarchy, although some groups objected to the wording and choice and boycotted the referendum, 98% of those voting voted yes. The new constitution has been called a hybrid of theocratic and democratic elements with much of it based on the ideas Khomeini presented in his work Islamic Government, Governance of the Jurist. In it Khomeini argued that government must be run in accordance with traditional Islamic sharia, and for this to happen a leading Islamic jurist must provide political guardianship over the people. The leading jurist were known as Marja. ” and the importance of the Supreme Leader. ”Article 107 in the constitution mentions Imam Khomeini by name and praises him as the most learned and talented leader for emulation. The responsibilities of the Supreme Leader are vaguely stated in the constitution, as the rest of the clergy governed affairs on a daily basis, the Supreme Leader is capable of mandating a new decision as per the concept of Vilayat-e Faqih. Shortly before Imam Khomeinis death a change was made in the constitution allowing a lower ranking Shia cleric to become Supreme Leader, montazeri was demoted as a marja and Khomeini chose a new successor, a relatively low-ranking member of the clergy, Ali Khamenei
3.
Ali Khamenei
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Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei is a marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran. Khamenei succeeded the first Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, after Khomeinis death and his political career began after the Iranian Revolution, when the former President of Iran, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, then a confidant of Khomeini, brought Khamenei into Khomeinis inner circle. Khamenei then went to serve as President of Iran from 1981 to 1989 while becoming an ally to Khomeini. Today, as Supreme Leader, Khamenei is the head of state of Iran, for this reason, he is considered the most powerful political authority in the country. For example, in August 2016, Khamenei directly warned the current president Hassan Rouhani that there should be no deviation from Khameneis economic policies, the report said that it found no evidence that Khamenei is tapping Setad to enrich himself. As president, he had a reputation of being interested in the military, budget and administrative details. Comparatively, Khamenei is the second longest head of state in the Middle East as well as the second longest-serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Khamenei has either direct or indirect control over the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, as well as the military and media. All candidates to the Assembly of Experts, the President and the Majlis, are vetted by the Guardian Council, there have been also instances when the Guardian Council reversed its ban of particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei. Khamenei has also fired and reinstated Presidential cabinet appointments, Irans Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani, a Khamenei appointee, has warned the president of Iran against voicing opposition to Khamenei. There have been several protests during Khameneis reign, including the 1994 Qazvin Protests. Khamenei asked to maximize the amount of transparency in elections in Iran, Khamenei was the victim of an attempted assassination in June 1981 that paralysed his right arm. According to his website, Khamenei was arrested six times before being sent into exile for three years during Mohammad Reza Pahlavis reign. Regarding controversial Nuclear program of Iran, Ali Khamenei had issued a fatwa saying that the production, stockpiling, born to Seyyed Javad Khamenei and Khadijeh Mirdamadi in Mashhad, Khamenei is the second of eight children. Two of his brothers are also clerics and his brother, Hadi Khamenei, is a renowned newspaper editor. His elder sister Fatemeh Hosseini Khamenei died in 2015, at age 89 and his descendancy is of ethnic Azerbaijani background, with one source claiming that his mother was an ethnic Persian-speaker from Yazd. Some of his ancestors are from Tafresh in todays Markazi Province, then, he went to Najaf in 1957, but soon returned back to Mashhad due to his fathers unwillingness to let him stay there. In 1958, he settled in Qom where he attended the classes of Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi, Khamenei married a woman named Khojaste in 1964
4.
Assembly of Experts for Leadership
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The Assembly consists of eighty eight Mujtahids that are elected from lists of candidates by direct public vote for eight-year terms. The number of members has ranged from 82 elected in 1982 to 88 elected in 2016, current laws require the assembly to meet for at least two days every six months. The current chairman of the Fifth Assembly is Ahmad Jannati, due to Ali Khameneis very longtime unchallenged rule, many believe the Assembly of Experts has become a ceremonial body without any real power. Irans Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani, a Khamenei appointee, stated that it is illegal for the Assembly of Experts to supervise Khamenei. All candidates to the Assembly of Experts must be approved by the Guardian Council whose members are, in turn, accordingly, the Assembly has never questioned the Supreme Leader. There have been instances when the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei publicly criticized members of the Assembly of Experts, resulting in their arrest, another instance is when Khamenei indirectly called the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani a traitor for a statement he made resulting Rafsanjani to retract it. The Assembly of Experts grew out of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution, the members of this assembly are jurists, not theologians. This is an important difference. According to the Iranian Constitution, the assembly is in charge of supervising, dismissing and electing the Supreme Leader, in the event of his death, resignation or dismissal, the Experts shall take steps within the shortest possible time to appoint a new Leader. To choose the Supreme Leader, the Experts are to review qualified candidates, otherwise, in the absence of such a candidate, the Experts shall elect and declare one of their own as Supreme Leader. Iranian constitutional referendum,1989 removed the requirement for the leader to be a marja, the assembly gathers every six months. Activities of the assembly include compiling a list of those eligible to become Supreme Leader in the event of the current Supreme Leaders death, resignation and this is done by the 107/109 commission. Monitoring the current leader to make sure he continues to all the criteria listed in the constitution is done by the 111 commission. Members of the Assembly report to this commission about the issues concerning the current Supreme Leader, the meetings, meeting notes, and reports of the Assembly are confidential and not made available to anyone outside the assembly, except for the sitting Supreme Leader. The constitution does not specify requirements for candidacy for the Assembly of Experts, the assembly has passed laws to require all its members be experts in fiqh, authorizing the Guardian Council to vet candidates for ijtihad proficiency using written and oral examinations. Women are theoretically eligible to run for the Assembly of Experts, the Guardian Council rejected them, arguing that they lacked qualifications in fiqh. Currently, the age of the members of the Assembly is over 60 years. The members must be Hujjat al-Islam or Ayatollahs, the first elections for the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership were held in December 1982 and the Assembly first convened in 1983
5.
Ahmad Jannati
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Ahmad Jannati is an Iranian Shii cleric and a conservative politician. He is also a member of the Haghani school of thought. Jannati has been a member of the Guardian Council since 1980 and has been its chair since 1988, during a Friday Prayer on 4 August 2006, Jannati asserted that support for Hizbollah was a duty. Jannati sees leniency with the dissidents as un-Islamic, God ordered the prophet Muhammad to brutally slay hypocrites and ill-intentioned people who stuck to their convictions. May God not forgive anyone showing leniency toward the corrupt on Earth, in a 1 June 2007 speech aired on Iranian TV Channel 1, Jannati stated, People are increasingly inclined towards the Koran, towards Islam, towards the Islamic Revolution and the Imam. Just like this movement destroyed the monarchical regime here, it will destroy the arrogant rule of hegemony of America, Israel. At the end of the day, we are an anti-American regime, America is our enemy, and we are the enemies of America. The hostility between us is not a personal matter and it is a matter of principle. We are in disagreement over the principles that underlie our revolution. In April 2008, he stated, You cried, Death to the Shah and you cried, Death to Israel, and it is now on its deathbed. You cry, Death to America, and before long, Allah willing, on 17 September 2010, Jannati described the recent desecration of the holy Quran in the United States an insane behavior, apparently referring to the 2010 Quran-burning controversy. In the same Friday Prayer, he claimed that opinion polls reveal that 84 percent of the Americans consider the US administration responsible for 9/11 attacks. The Ayatollahs comments about Americans opinions about 9/11 were cited by analysts after President Ahmadinejad made similar comments, amongst others, the next week at the United Nations. The presidents speech sparked at least 33 delegations to walk out from the General Assembly and this is our number one slogan. Jannati takes a stand in favor of compulsory Hijab, or covering for women. In June 2010, he spoke out against Iranian President Ahmadinejad for his alleged laxness on compulsory hijab in Iran, Jannati has become a target of ageist stereotyping jokes in Iran. His son Hossein Jannati was a member of Peoples Mujahedin of Iran and was killed in a battle by the Islamic Republic security forces in 1981
6.
President of Iran
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The President of Iran is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The President is the highest popularly elected official in Iran, although the President answers to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Khamenei also makes the final decisions on the amount of transparency in elections in Iran, and has fired and reinstated Presidential cabinet appointments. The President of Iran is elected for a term by the direct vote of the people. The current President of Iran is Hassan Rouhani, who assumed office on August 3,2013 and he succeeded Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who served 8 years in office from 2005 to 2013. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and referendum to create the Islamic Republic on March 29 and 30, ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, ordered an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with writing the constitution. The assembly presented the constitution on October 24,1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, the 1979 Constitution designated the Supreme Leader of Iran as the head of state and the President and Prime Minister as the heads of government. The post of Prime Minister was abolished in 1989, the first Iranian presidential election was held on January 25,1980 and resulted in the election of Abulhassan Banisadr with 76% of the votes. Banisadr was impeached on June 22,1981 by Parliament, until the early election on July 24,1981, the duties of the President were undertaken by the Provisional Presidential Council. Mohammad-Ali Rajai was elected President on July 24,1981 and took office on August 2, Rajai was in office for less than one month because he and his prime minister were both assassinated. Once again a Provisional Presidential Council filled the office until October 13,1981 when Ali Khamenei was elected president, the election on August 3,2005 resulted in a victory for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were each elected president for two terms, the President of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election by universal adult suffrage for everyone of at least 18 years of age. Candidates for the presidency must be approved by the Council of Guardians, within these guidelines the Council vetoes candidates who are deemed unacceptable. The approval process is considered to be a check on the presidents power, in the 1997 election, for example, only four out of 238 presidential candidates were approved by the council. Western observers have criticized the approvals process as a way for the Council and Supreme Leader to ensure that only conservative. However, the council rejects the criticism, citing approval of reformists in previous elections, the council rejects most of the candidates stating that they are not a well-known political figure, a requirement by the current law. The President must be elected with a majority of the popular vote. If no candidate receives a majority in the first round, an election is held between the top two candidates. According to the Iranian constitution, when the President dies or is impeached, the President automatically becomes the Head of the Supreme National Security Council and the Head of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution
7.
Hassan Rouhani
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Hassan Rouhani is the seventh and current President of Iran since 2013. He is also a lawyer, academic and former diplomat and he has been a member of Irans Assembly of Experts since 1999, member of the Expediency Council since 1991, member of the Supreme National Security Council since 1989. Rouhani was deputy speaker of the fourth and fifth terms of the Parliament of Iran and he has expressed official support for upholding the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. In 2013, he appointed former industries minister Eshaq Jahangiri as his first vice-president, on 7 May 2013, Rouhani registered for the presidential election that was held on 14 June 2013. He said that, if elected, he would prepare a civil rights charter, restore the economy, Rouhani is frequently described as a moderate. He was elected as President of Iran on 15 June, defeating Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and he took office on 3 August 2013. In 2013, TIME magazine named him in its list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and his name is also spelled as Hasan Rouhani, Hassan Rohani, Hasan Rohani, Hassan Rowhani or Hasan Rowhani. He was born Hassan Fereydoun and later changed his last name to Rouhani and it is not clear when he officially changed his last name. Hassan Rouhani was born on 12 November 1948 in Sorkheh, near Semnan and his father, Haj Asadollah Fereydoun, had a spice shop in Sorkheh and his mother lived in Semnan until her death in 2015 with her daughters and sons-in-law. Rouhani started religious studies in 1960, first at Semnan Seminary before moving on to the Qom Seminary in 1961. In addition, he studied modern courses, and was admitted to the University of Tehran in 1969, in 1973, Rouhani entered military service in the city of Nishapur. Rouhanis Caledonian research was initially supervised by Iranian lawyer and scholar Professor Sayed Hassan Amin, analysis by three bloggers indicated that two passages in his PhD thesis were taken from a 1991 book by Mohammad Hashim Kamali. The University library confirmed that Rouhani had cited Kamalis work both in the body of the thesis and in the bibliography and that his theses were under no academic investigation. As a young cleric Hassan Rouhani started his activities by following the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the beginning of the Iranian Islamist movement. In 1965, he began traveling throughout Iran making speeches against the government of the Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, during those years he was arrested many times and was banned from delivering public speeches. It has been suggested that the title has been used for Khomeini by others before, including by the Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, since he was under surveillance by SAVAK, the Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti and the Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari advised him to leave the country. Outside Iran he made speeches to Iranian students studying abroad. He was elected to the Parliament of Iran in 1980, among responsibilities shouldered by him in the post-revolution era was leadership of the supervisory council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting from 1980 to 1983
8.
Vice President of Iran
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The Vice President of Iran is defined by article 124 of the Constitution of Iran, as anyone appointed by the President of Iran to lead an organization related to Presidential affairs. As of July 2009, there are 12 Vice Presidents in Iran, the First Vice President is the most important as he or she leads cabinet meetings in the absence of the president. The role of First Vice President was created in the revision of the Constitution in 1989 and it took over some of the responsibilities of Prime Minister. According to Article 124, First Vice President will be chairing the board of ministers and coordinate the other vice presidencies, according to Article 131, First Vice President takes over as acting President in cases where the President in incapacitated, but only if permitted by the Supreme Leader. According to the same Article, First Vice President must make sure that a new president is elected in fifty days, according to Article 132, during the time an Acting President is serving, the Majlis cannot impeach ministers and it cant disapprove newly introduced ministers. Also, referendums and revisions to the Constitution are forbidden, the President may or may not choose vice presidents for specific issues, but their existence is not obligatory
9.
Eshaq Jahangiri
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Eshaq Jahangiri Kouhshahi is an Iranian politician and first vice president of Hassan Rouhanis government. Jahangiri was the minister of industries and mines from 1997 to 2005 under President Mohammad Khatami, before that, he was governor of Isfahan Province. He was also a member of Parliament for two terms, Jahangiri was born on 10 January 1957 in Kuh Shah Rural District, kerman Province. He graduated from University of Kerman with a degree in physics and he was active in revolutionary groups prior to the Iranian Revolution and once was wounded by the forces of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He later received his second Ph. D from Iran University of Science, Jahangiri began his political career following the Iranian revolution. He became deputy head of the department in Kerman in July 1980. Then, he was appointed its head in 1982 and he was elected to the Iranian Parliament in 1984 election. He was also reelected in next election and he was appointed governor of Isfahan on 1 September 1992 by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to replace with Gholamhossein Karbaschi. He held the position until 20 August 1997 when he was nominated by Mohammad Khatami as the minister of mines and his portfolio was later changed to the minister of industries and mines and he held that position until President Ahmadinejads cabinet took over in 2005. In 2008, it was rumored that Jahangiri would run for a seat in the Parliament and he was also a potential reformists candidate in 2013 presidential election but he withdrew in favor of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and then became Rafsanjanis campaign manager. He was co-founder of Executives of Construction Party and served as its secretary general from 2006 to 2010 and he was also a member of Mir-Hossein Mousavis presidential campaign in 2009 presidential election. On 23 July 2013, it was reported that Jahangiri is the next First Vice President, on 29 July, it was confirmed officially, pending his appointment for the post in the inauguration day. He was formally appointed on 4 August by Rouhani as his first vice president, replacing Mohammad-Reza Rahimi
10.
Mahmoud Vaezi
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Mahmoud Vaezi is an Iranian engineer, politician, former diplomat and Minister of Communication. He is Center for Strategic Research Deputy of Foreign Policy and International Relations and he is former deputy foreign minister of Iran in Europe and American Countries Affairs. He was an adviser to Hassan Rouhani in his 2013 presidential campaign and was considered a foreign minister in his future government. He holds M. A. and Ph. D in International Relations from Tehran, managing Director and Chairman of Board of Directors of Telecommunication Company of Iran and also the First Deputy Minister of Post and Telecommunication from 1980 to 1987. From 1990 to 1997, he was Political Deputy of Foreign Minister in Europe, during his tenure at foreign ministry he played role in signing Tehran Communiqué about Karabakh dispute. Profile at Center for Strategic Research
11.
Cabinet of Iran
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The Cabinet of Iran is a formal body composed of government officials, ministers, chosen and led by a President. Its composition must be approved by a vote in the Parliament, the cabinet meets weekly on Saturdays in Tehran. There may be additional meetings if circumstances require it, from 1699 until 1907 the Iranian cabinet was led by Premiers who were appointed by the Shah of Iran. The position of premier was abolished and replaced by the Prime Minister of Iran, the constitution stipulated that all Prime Minister must be subject to a vote in parliament for both approval and removal. During the period 1907 to 1951 all Prime Ministers were selected by the Shah, from 1951 to 1953, the members of parliament elected the Prime Minister among themselves, through a vote-of-confidence. The Shah, as the head of state, then appointed the parliaments selection to the position of Prime Minister, following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the position of Shah was removed as the head of state, effectively ending Irans history of monarchy. The constitutional amendment of 1989 effectively ended the position of Prime Minister and transferred its powers to that of the president, President Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Ejei. On 26 July 2009, Ahmadinejads government faced a problem after he sacked four ministers. Irans constitution stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the Vice Chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a reapproval. The main list of 21 cabinet appointments was announced on 19 August 2009, on 4 September, Parliament of Iran approved 18 of the 21 candidates and rejected three of them, including two women. Sousan Keshavarz, Mohammad Aliabadi, and Fatemeh Ajorlou were not approved by Parliament for the Ministries of Education, Energy, marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi is the first woman approved by Parliament as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran. On 9 May, Ahmedinejad announced Ministries of Petroleum and Energy would merge, as would Industries and Mines with Commerce, on 13 May, he dismissed Masoud Mir Kazemi, Aliakbar Mehrabian and Sadeq Mahsouli. On 15 May, he was announced he would be caretaker minister of the Petroleum Ministry. From August 2009 to February 2013, a total of nine ministers in the cabinet was dismissed by the Majlis, hassan Rouhani was elected as President of Iran in 2013 presidential election and took office on 3 August 2013. He nominated his coalition cabinet members to the parliament for vote of confidence on the next day,15 out of 18 designated ministers was confirmed by the parliament
12.
Islamic Consultative Assembly
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The Islamic Consultative Assembly, also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majlis, is the national legislative body of Iran. The Parliament currently has 290 representatives, changed from the previous 272 seats since the 18 February 2000 election, the most recent election took place on 26 February 2016 and the new parliament was opened on 28 May 2016. Before the Islamic Revolution, Majlis was also the name of the house of the Iranian Legislature from 1906 to 1979. It was created by the Iran Constitution of 1906 and first convened on 7 October 1906, women were not allowed to vote or be elected to the Parliament until 1963, as part of reforms under the Shahs White Revolution. The twenty-first National Consultative Assembly, which included female representatives, opened on 6 October 1963, the last session of the Pre-Revolution Parliament was held on 7 February 1979. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Senate of Iran was abolished and was replaced by the Guardian Council thus the Iranian legislature remained bicameral. In the 1989 revision of the constitution, the National Consultative Assembly became the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Parliament of Iran has had six chairmen since the Iranian Revolution. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was the first chairman, from 1980 to 1989, then came Mehdi Karroubi, Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, Mehdi Karroubi, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and Ali Larijani since 2008. The Islamic Consultative Assembly can legislate laws on all issues within the limits of the Constitution, the Assembly cannot, for instance, enact laws contrary to the canons and principles of the official religion of the country or to the Constitution. Government bills are presented to the Islamic Consultative Assembly after receiving the approval of the Council of Ministers, the Islamic Consultative Assembly has the right to investigate and examine all the affairs of the country. International treaties, protocols, contracts, and agreements must be approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, receiving and issuing national or international loans or grants by the government must be ratified by the Islamic Consultative Assembly. The President must obtain, for the Council of Ministers, after being formed and before all other business, all legislation passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly must be sent to the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council must review it within a maximum of ten days from its receipt with a view to ensuring its compatibility with the criteria of Islam, if it finds the legislation incompatible, it will return it to the Assembly for review. Otherwise the legislation will be deemed enforceable, currently, there are 290 members of Parliament, fourteen of whom represent non-Muslim religious minorities, and are popularly elected for four-year terms. About 8% of the Parliament are women, while the average is 13%. The Parliament can force the dismissal of cabinet ministers through no-confidence votes, although the executive proposes most new laws, individual deputies of the Parliament also may introduce legislation. Deputies also may propose amendments to bills being debated, the Parliament also drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the national budget. All Peoples House of Iran candidates and all legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council, candidates must pledge in writing that they are committed, in theory and in practice, to the Iranian constitution
13.
Ali Larijani
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Ali Larijani is an Iranian philosopher, conservative politician and the current chairman of the Parliament of Iran. Larijani was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 15 August 2005 to 20 October 2007, appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Larijani was one of the two representatives of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to the council, the other being Hassan Rouhani. In his post as secretary he effectively functioned as the top negotiator on issues of national security, Ali Larijani was born on 3 June 1957 in Najaf, Iraq to Iranian parents. He hails from a family based in Behshahr in the province of Mazandaran. His father is a cleric, Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli. His parents moved to Najaf in 1931 due to pressure of then ruler Reza Shah, Larijani is a graduate of the Haqqani school in Qom. He also holds a bachelor of degree in computer science and mathematics from Sharif University of Technology and holds a masters degree. Initially, he wanted to continue his studies in computer science. Larijani has published books on Immanuel Kant, Saul Kripke, Larijani is a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards. From 1981 to 1989, Larijani served as the deputy minister of labour, following the election of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as President of Iran, he was appointed deputy minister of information and communications technology. After Mohammad Khatamis resignation as minister of culture and Islamic guidance, he was appointed as acting minister, in March 1994, he was appointed as head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, replacing Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani in the post. He was in office until 21 July 2004 and was succeeded by Ezzatollah Zarghami after serving ten years in the post and he became security adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in August 2004. Larijani was a candidate for the 2005 presidential elections, where he ranked sixth. He was considered the most important presidential candidate of the alliance for the 2005 presidential elections. He was supported by the Islamic Society of Engineers, among other conservative groups, but he proved to be the least popular of the three conservative candidates, the others being Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. In 2005, Larijani was appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and he replaced Hassan Rouhani in the post. Larijani took a line on the nuclear file before his appointment as negotiator. ”As chief nuclear negotiator, Iranian analysts said he differed with the president over how to pursue negotiations with his European counterparts. In the March 2008 parliamentary election, Larijani won a seat from Qom and he said that he was willing to work with Ahmadinejad, according to Larijani, he did not disagree with Ahmadinejad on ideological issues and they had only differences in style
14.
Supreme Audit Court of Iran
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The Supreme Audit Court of Iran is a government agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Located in Tehran, it is supervised by the Iranian Parliament, since 2010, SAC has been charged with supervising the Iranian Economic Reform Plan. SAC also monitors the Oil Ministry’s deposits into the treasury on a monthly basis. It is also in charge of the supervision of the National Development Fund, in May 2009, SAC reported that 1 billion was missing from Oil Stabilization Fund. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the issue of the missing $1 billion from the countrys currency reserve fund is in fact an accounting error, SAC defended both methodology and accuracy of its work and revealed that there had been 1463 cases of infractions regarding the countrys 2007-2008 budget. As a consequence, Iran was not able to obtain a payment for the oil it sold following the international oil embargo. According to Freedomhouse SAC is little more than a ceremonial body because judges appointed by the judiciary often overturn its verdicts. They are also not permitted to inspect any of the related to the Revolutionary Guards. This does not mean that Iran rejects the report and the country should make efforts to fulfill their criteria, he added
15.
Guardian Council
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The Guardian Council of the Constitution is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is charged with interpreting the Constitution of Iran, supervising elections of, and approving of candidates to, the Assembly of Experts, the President and the Majlis, the compatibility of the legislation passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly. With the criteria of Islam and the Constitution and it has also increased the influence the Islamic Revolutionary Guard has on the economic and cultural life of the country. There have been instances when the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei publicly criticized members of the Assembly of Experts resulting in their arrest, there have been also instances where the Guardian Council reversed its ban for particular people after being ordered to do so by current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Majlis has no legal status without the Guardian Council, any bill passed by the Majlis must be reviewed and approved by the Guardian Council to become law. According to Article 96 of the constitution, the Guardian Council holds veto power over all legislation approved by the Majlis and it can nullify a law based on two accounts, being against Islamic laws, or being against the constitution. While all the vote on the laws being compatible with the constitution. If any law is rejected, it will be passed back to the Majlis for correction, if the Majlis and the Council of Guardians cannot decide on a case, it is passed up to the Expediency Council for a decision. The Guardian Council is uniquely involved in the process, with equal oversight with regards to economic law and social policy. Chapter 6 of the Constitution explains its interworkings with the Islamic Consultative Assembly, articles 91-97 all fall in the legislative Chapter 6. The Council of Guardians also functions similar to a constitutional court, the authority to interpret the constitution is vested in the Council. Interpretative decisions require a three-quarters majority, the Council does not conduct a court hearing where opposing sides are argued. Since 1991, all candidates of parliamentary or presidential elections, as well as candidates for the Assembly of Experts, have to be qualified by the Guardian Council in order to run in the election. For major elections it typically disqualifies most candidates, for example in the 2009 election,476 men and women applied to the Guardian Council to seek the presidency, the Council is accorded supervision of elections. The Guardian Council interprets the term supervision in Article 99 as approbation supervision which implies the right for acceptance or rejection of elections legality and this interpretation is in contrast with the idea of notification supervision which does not imply the mentioned approval right. The evidentiary supervision, which requires evidences for acceptance or rejection of elections legality, on Monday, June 29,2009, the Guardian Council certified the results of the controversial election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected. The Council had completed a recount of 10 percent of the votes in order to appease the citizens of Iran. As the final authority on the election, the Council has declared the election closed, the certification of the results set off a wave of protests, disregarding the Iranian governments ban on street marches
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Judicial system of Iran
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A nationwide judicial system in Iran was first implemented and established by Abdolhossein Teymourtash under Reza Shah, with further changes during the second Pahlavi era. After the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty by the Islamic Revolution, the legal code is now based on Islamic law or sharia, although many aspects of civil law have been retained, and it is integrated into a civil law legal system. According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic, the judiciary in Iran is an independent power, parliamentary bills pertaining to the constitution are vetted by the Council of Guardians. Some aspects of the law remained in the hands of the mullahs. Among the ways law in Iran and the rest of the Muslim world differed from European law was in its lack of a law code. Thirteen centuries of Islamic—more particularly Shiah—tradition called for jurists to base decisions on their training as it applied to the situation being judged. There was also no appeal in traditional Islamic law, as far as the judicial system is concerned, the changes were quite minor until the end of the nineteenth century. As European military and technological power began to be felt in 19th century Iran, the Europeans insisted on this legal veto right—called the regime of capitulations—on the grounds that Iran had no written legal code so that no one knew what laws foreigners would be judged by. Iran followed traditional Islamic practice of each giving his own interpretation of Islamic law for a given litigation. Under the secularist reign of Reza Shah many changes were made in Irans judicial system, by April 1927 Iran had 600 newly appointed judges in Tehran. Davar subsequently attempted to expand the new system into other cities of Iran through a programme involving training of 250 judges, Reza Shah represented his legal reforms as tentative experiments and allowed the religious judges to keep their courts for matters such as inheritance. In 1936, however, the new system was made permanent, however, there were still sharia courts that ruled on issues of family and inheritance up to the Islamic Revolution. In 1979 the secular, westernizing Pahlavi Dynasty was overthrown and replaced by an Islamic Republic under the rule of Ayatollah Khomeini, between 1979 and 1982, the entire pre-Revolutionary judiciary was purged, and their duties replaced by Revolutionary Tribunals set up in every town. These tribunals ruled on Islamic law, but were in practice unfair, biased, many people were executed or given harsh punishments for both political and criminal acts. There were no appeals either, and trials often lasted minutes in an un-orthodox court, in 1982, the regular court system was reinstated, but with the judges now trained in Islamic law. In 1982, in response to military threats, a separate Military Revolutionary Court was formed. The Retribution Law of 1982 replaced sections of the Public Punishment Law, the 1979 Constitution of the Islamic Republic called for the judiciary to be an independent power, and charges it with investigating and passing judgement on grievances. Supervising the proper enforcement of laws, uncovering crimes, prosecuting, punishing, and chastising criminals, taking suitable measures to prevent crime and reform criminals
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Sadeq Larijani
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Sadeq Ardeshir Larijani, more known as Amoli Larijani, is an Iranian cleric, politician and the current and fifth head of the judicial system of Iran after the 1979 revolution. He was born in 1339 solar in Najaf and his father, the late Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli, was an eminent Mujtahid of his time who worked in Najaf after being exiled by Mohammad Reza Shah. The family moved to Iran after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, larinjani became familiar with both religious sciences and modern sciences as child. He began his school in 1345 solar and finished high school in 1356 solar. Following high school, he began his studies in Qom. He finished his studies in 1368 solar then began to teach in both seminary and university. He became a member of scientific staffs of Qom University and taught courses in theology. Larijani is a brother of Ali Larijani, Mohammad Javad Larijani, Bagher Larijani and he is fluent in Persian, Arabic, and English. Larijani served as one of the 12 members of the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran for eight years. According to leading Iranian human rights defense lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh, the head of the Judicial System of Iran is required to be a Mojtahed with significant experience in the field. Larijani, however, was neither an experienced jurist nor a highly ranked cleric, shortly after his appointment, Larijani appointed Saeed Mortazavi to the post of deputy prosecutor general of Iran. Mortazavi was prosecutor general of Tehran for more than seven years during which he was involved in murdering and torturing a number of Iranian civilians, one of the high-profile deaths attributed to Mortazavi is that of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. The police refused to give a receipt of the items, the office was organized by Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi for supporting the victims of torture in Iranian prisons. That same month, the authorities from the Judiciary System began targeting the children of leaders of the opposition groups, the Judiciary released her after twenty-four hours in the South of Tehran in an inappropriate condition. In 2015, he said it is illegal for the Assembly of Experts to supervise Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in 2016, he warned president Hassan Rouhani against voicing opposition to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Sadegh Larijani stated that the government does not derive its legitimacy from the votes of the nation and he is a well-known critic of ex-president Mohammad Khatami and his reforms. In March 1998 an article by him attacking Khatamis call for a civil Islamic society, at the same time he considered as leading figure in the sphere of philosophy of law or fiqh. Larijani condemned protesters and those who expressed doubts in the 2009 presidential election results, calling the protests illegal, on 23 May 2012, Larijani was put into the sanction list of the European Union, which was published in the Official Journal of the Union
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General Inspection Office (Iran)
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The General Inspection Organization of Iran is linked to the Judiciary of Iran. It is also called the State Inspectorate Organization of Iran, the organization is a member of Asian Ombudsman Association and International Ombudsman Institute. Also it is the member of International Association of Anti Corruption Authorities, in 2009, GIO informed that Iranian banks have some USD38 billion of delinquent loans, while they are only capitalized at USD20 billion. While most Iranians have difficulties obtaining small home loans,90 persons have managed to secure collective facilities totaling $8 billion from banks
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Supreme National Security Council
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He was appointed to position of secretary by the president Hassan Rouhani On 10 September 2013. The council for the protection and support of interests and Islamic revolution and territorial integrity. This institution was founded during the 1989 revision of the constitution, coordination of activities political, intelligence, social, cultural and economic fields in the relating to general policies of defense and national security. Exploitation of materialistic and intellectual resources of the country for facing the internal and external threats and this National Security Council is mandated by Article 176 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran to be presided over by the president of the country. The president selects the secretary of the Supreme council, the decisions of the Council are effective after the confirmation by the Supreme Leader. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council are at the top of the policy decisions process. Supreme National Security Council formulates the countrys nuclear policy, the nuclear policies formulated by the council would become effective if they are confirmed by the Supreme Leader. The secretary of the Supreme council was the chief negotiator of Iran until 5 September 2013 when responsibility for nuclear talks was assigned to the ministry of foreign affairs. As of 2013, following members are, Supreme Defense Council Iran’s President Criticized Over Nuclear Issue
20.
Ali Shamkhani
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Ali Shamkhani is an Iranian Rear Admiral Upper Half. He is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Shamkhani was born on 29 September 1955 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan. His family are of Iranian Arab origin, before the Iranian Revolution, Shamkhani was member of a clandestine Islamist guerilla group named Mansouroun, engaging in armed struggle against Pahlavi dynasty. After the revolution, he joined the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization and he studied engineering at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. Shamkhani served as the commander of the IRGC navy with the rank of rear admiral, later he also commanded the Artesh navy in addition to the IRGC navy. He was appointed as the Minister of Revolutionary Guards in 1988, then he held the post of the minister of defense from August 1997 until August 2005 in the government of Mohammad Khatami. Shamkani was replaced by Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar in the post, in the 2001 presidential elections Shamkhani run for office. He was the director of the Iranian Armed Forces Center for Strategic Studies from 2005 to 2013 and he is also military advisor to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On 10 September 2013, Shamkhani was appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council by President Hassan Rouhani, in 2003, Shamkhani received Shojaat Medal, highest military medal from President Mohammad Khatami. He was also honored for his eight years service as minister of defence in 2005 and he is the first Iranian minister to receive the medal. Media related to Ali Shamkhani at Wikimedia Commons
21.
Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution
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Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, is a conservative-dominated body based in Qom, was set up at the time of Ayatollah Khomeini. Its decisions can only be overruled by Irans Supreme Leader, most of its members were appointed by Ali Khamenei, Khomeinis successor. The President of Iran is ex officio the chairman of the Council, the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council that was formed in December 1984 was in fact continuation of the Cultural Revolution Headquarters. This council debates and approves its own relevant issues, the Khomeini used to say that such approved issues must be regarded as laws. He did not mean that Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution was a legislative organ, however, its ratified bills are valid as approved laws. In accordance with the instructions of the late Khomeini, one must not overrule the approved issues of this council, the Cultural Revolution Headquarters failed to make universities ready for building the future. The headquarters deleted certain courses such as music as fake knowledge, committees established after the 1979 Revolution came to similar conclusions concerning all subjects in the humanities such as law, political sciences, economy, psychology, education and sociology. The SCRC was formed in December 1984 and substituted the Cultural Revolution Headquarters, in fact, the formation of such an institution was not stipulated in the Constitution. It was formed under the circumstances that were prevailing in the early stages of the revolution. The council took its legitimacy from the 9 December 1984 decree of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini, in fact, the group of 7 was expected to compile all the cultural policies of the country. The SCRC blocked the way to the emergence of the student movement in 1983-1989 period by banning many books and purging thousands of students and lecturers. Through selection of applicants who wished to enter universities and by the formation of institutions inside universities, in 1996 Hojjateslam Mohammad Khatami was appointed as a member of High Council for Cultural Revolution by the Supreme Leader of Iran. As President he was the head of the council, in October 2001 the SCRC ordered all private Internet access companies under state control. The order was never implemented, but parliament considered legislation that would require Internet providers to access to adult sites. They would thus be deprived of their rights to gain knowledge. Elham explained that a committee of the SCRC would take charge of filtering. Elham listed more than 20 matters that would likely be filtered, as president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was appointed ex officio by the Supreme Leader of Iran as a member of High Council for Cultural Revolution in 2005. The president is by virtue of his position the chair of the council, on 5 July 2011, Mohammad Reza Mokhber Dezfuli is elected as Secretary of Council by members of Council for four years
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Expediency Discernment Council
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It was originally set up to resolve differences or conflicts between the Majlis and the Guardian Council, but its true power lies more in its advisory role to the Supreme Leader. Members of the council are chosen by the Supreme Leader every five years, on 14 March 2012, a new council was appointed for a five-year period. Hashemi Rafsanjani, Akbar, Ayatollah * Mohsen Rezaee, Ph. D. * Rouhani, Hassan, Hojatoleslam, * Jannati, Ahmad, Ayatollah * Amini Najafabadi, Ebrahim, Ayatollah * Haddad-Adel, Gholam Ali, Ph. D. * Movahedi-Kermani, Ali, Ayatollah * Velayati, Ali Akbar, jalili, Saeed, Ph. D. D. * Jannati, Ahmad, Ayatollah * Vaez Tabasi, Abbas, Ayatollah * Amini Najafabadi, Ebrahim, Ayatollah * Haddad-Adel, Gholam Ali, Ph. D. * Emami Kashani, Mohammad, Ayatollah * Movahedi-Kermani, Ali, Ayatollah * Habibi, Hassan Ebrahim, Ph. D. * Velayati, Ali Akbar, M. D. * Dorri Najafabadi, Ghorbanali, Ayatollah * Mohammadi Reyshahri, Mohammad, Hojatoleslam * Sanei, Hassan, Hojatoleslam * Rouhani, Hassan, Hojatoleslam, Ph. D. * Asgar Owladi, Habibollah * Larijani, Ali, Ph. D. D, the following is a list of its members of the year 1997-2002. Center for Strategic Research Official website GlobalSecurity. org on the Expediency Discernment Council GlobalSecurity
23.
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
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Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi is an Iranian politician who is currently First Vice-Chairman of the Iranian Assembly of Experts. According to Al-Monitor, he is also an Iraqi citizen and a member of Islamic Dawa Party. In 2010, he declared himself a Marja, Hashemi Shahroudi became the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which has caused objections to his serving as the Head of Irans Judiciary from 1999 until 2009. He is currently a member of Irans Guardian Council, upon accepting his position as the Head of Iran’s Judiciary, Shahroudi proclaimed, I have inherited an utter ruin from the previous judiciary, referring to Mohammad Yazdis 10 years in office. He appointed Saeed Mortazavi, a well known fundamentalist and controversial figure, in July 2011 Shahroudi was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to head an arbitration body to resolve an ongoing dispute between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the parliament. He is favorite as one of the successors of Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader of Iran, after khamenehi became leader of Islamique republic, Ayatollah Yazdi has served as the president of the Supreme Court. He remained in the post for years and then replaced by Muhammad Hashemi shahreoudi. In 2001, the judiciary prosecuted several reformist members of parliament for speeches and activities they had carried out in their capacity as MPs. The Iranian constitution grants immunity to members of parliament during their tenure, the incident led to a major conflict between Iranian president Mohammad Khatami and Chief of Judiciary Hashemi Shahroudi. In a letter, Khatami protested the courts prosecution of MPs, the notice prompted Hashemi Shahroudi to respond, calling Khatamis letter a surprise. Shahroudi denounced reformist MPs, stating they weakened parliament by defending westernized journalists, while the Iranian constitution does state in Art. 167 that judges need to adjudicate on the basis of Islamic sources in cases where no codified law exists, Shahroudis commentary must be interpreted as being politically motivated, and is symptomatic of his failure to strengthen the rule of law during his tenure. The decriminalization bill refers to a bill submitted by the Iranian Judiciary to the parliament. It aims at substituting imprisonment and execution by educational workshops and social penalties, the bill is considered one of the most important legal bills prepared by the Iranian judiciary during Shahroudis tenure. According to the bill, for all crimes, whose punishment is less than six months of imprisonment, imprisonment will be substituted with social penalties. This category of crimes include crimes related to traffic, environmental, medical, family, cultural, the bill also demands that criminals undergo an educational or skill training course convened by the judiciary system. The bills also addresses the crimes conducted by minors in the three age categories 7-12, 12-15 and 15–18 years old and it is reminiscent to the Iranian criminal law of 1925. According to the bill, minors can no longer be executed, the bill is based on several years of continuous discussion with religious scholars at the seminaries
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Elections in Iran
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Iran elects on national level a head of state and head of government, a legislature, and an Assembly of Experts. Also City and Village Council elections are every four years throughout the country. The president is elected for a term by the people. The Parliament or Islamic Consultative Assembly has 290 members, elected for a term in multi-. Elections for the Assembly of Experts are held eight years. All candidates have to be approved by the Guardian Council, see Politics of Iran for more details. Until January 2007, when it was raised to 18, the age was 15 years. The most recent presidential election and the most recent local elections were held on 14 June 2013, the most recent parliamentary election and the most recent Assembly of Experts elections were held on 26 February 2016. The 2013 Iranian presidential election was held on 14 June 2013, hassan Rouhani was elected to succeed outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
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Iranian legislative election, 2016
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A second round was held on 29 April 2016 for some constituencies where candidates failed to obtain the required minimum 25 percent of votes cast. The elected MPs will serve from May 28,2016 to May 27,2020, the election was held as part of a general election which also elected members of the Assembly of Experts. This election was the first time that both bodies were elected simultaneously, more than 12,000 people filed to run for office. Nomination of 5,200 of candidates, mostly Reformists, were rejected by the Guardian Council and 612 individuals withdrew, the 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly has 285 directly elected members and five seats reserved for the Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians and Armenians. The 285 directly elected seats are elected from 196 constituencies, which are a mix of single, in single-member constituencies candidates must receive at least one-third of the votes in the first round. If no candidate passes this threshold, a round is held with the two highest-vote candidates. Voters must be Iranian citizens aged 18 or over, and shall not have been declared insane, the conservative camp also known as principlists, consisting of various groups, held the majority of the parliament. The camp spent months bringing together their various wings and formed the “Principlists Grand Coalition”, on foreign policy, they were against allowing American influence to permeate Iranian society and economy. The incumbent speaker Ali Larijani, declined to join the bloc because they have not provided the mechanisms for the creation of unity. Larijani himself was also backed by the list, the moderates faced considerable challenges in the Guardian Council’s vetting process and many of their lead figures were disqualified. Ali Motahari, who was on the List of Hope, decided to issue another list called “Peoples Voice” which was made up by moderate conservatives. Among opposition parties, National Front, Nation Party and Pan-Iranist Party boycotted the elections, freedom Movement of Iran called on voters to cast their ballots and backed reformists. Ali Khamenei, Supreme leader of Iran, voted on the beginning of election day and he had no comment on the result of the election but asked people for high turnout in election. According to Payesh Online, a poll conducted by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting indicates that most voters favor Moderate candidates. Answering Which political spectrum do you prefer to vote, 28% have replied Moderates, whereas 24% have cited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad allies, 23% and 13% answered Reformists and Principlists respectively and 5% say they favor independents. 41% will vote for supporters of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani, 24% approve supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while only 5% favor Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, one of these polls suggests that popularity of Haddad-Adel has decreased from 36% in December 2015 to less than 30% in February 2016. 22. 2% prefer to vote for candidates from all lists and 13. 2% dont care about lists, in Tehran, the number would be predicted between 55% and 65%. Only 30% of the voters are satisfied with their incumbent representative in the Parliament, the results indicate that the results would make a hung parliament with reformists having a plurality
26.
Iranian Assembly of Experts election, 2016
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Assembly of Experts election were held in Iran on 26 February 2016 to elect Assembly of Experts members. The 88 members of the Assembly of Experts, known as mujtahids, are directly elected, the elections had been planned for 2014, but were delayed by a year in order to hold them alongside the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections. The winning candidates of the Assembly of Experts next term, lasting until 2024, may have to choose the Next Supreme Leader of Iran, for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran,801 aspirants registered to run in the elections. The number was a 62. 47% increase compared to the election held in 2006. Among the candidates there were 16 women, another unprecedented event, there have been no female members in the assembly since its establishment. The Council invited 527 candidates to take the test, excluding the 152 who reportedly withdrew and 111 who were denied permission, of the 16 women who registered,10 received invitations. Nearly 80% of candidates who applied for the Assembly were disqualified by the Guardian Council, in the previous election, The Two Societies endorsed 81 candidates in a joint statement and were able to win 69 seats out of 86. The reformists did not reach a coalition and lost the election, the deal was opposed by many hardliners but backed by moderates and reformists. In this election, contrary to the ones, The Two Societies did not reach a coalition. The main dispute between the two, was whether they should support Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani candidacy or not, Combatant Clergy Association supported Rafsanjani, the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom did not. He also condemned BBC Persians programs on the elections and said people will act differently from what they want. Hardliners attacked Ransanjanis list by calling it “The British list”, implying that it is supported by the United Kingdom and this is none of your business, you nosy people should know that these five are the top choices of our people”. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani dismissed the charges and said Such interpretations regarding British list is an insult to Iranian peoples wisdom, in a meeting with the reformist and he also deplored that 500 knowledgeable theologians and seminarians as well as university instructors were disqualified for the elections. “They presently have no excuse to rage against us and insult us, thus, they attribute phrases like ‘inside man’ and ‘British’ to the old revolutionaries. These figures have been defeated by the people and are now seeking to exact revenge on the administration and President Rouhani”, despite the restrictions, reformists became well-organised to seek gains. The reformists who were barred from public presence as a result of 2009 protests, the instant messaging service Telegram played an important role in the campaigning period. More than 20 million Iranians are reported to be on the messaging app, khatamis message was viewed more than 3 million times on Telegram in one day. Another poster shared on the app was viewed by a people in 12 hours
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Iranian Reformists
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The Iranian reformists are a political faction in Iran that support former President Mohammad Khatamis plans to change the Iranian political system to include more freedom and democracy. Irans reform era is sometimes said to have lasted from 1997 to 2005—the length of Khatamis two terms in office, the ideology of Khatami and the movement is based on Islamic democracy. It has been described as the dominant member within the 2nd of Khordad Front, the main reformist party, association of Combatant Clerics, key figures are Mohammad Khatami, Hadi Khamenei, Majid Ansari, Mohammad Tavassoli, and Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha. It has been described as the main reformist clerical body, mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, key figures are Behzad Nabavi, Mohsen Armin, Mohammad Salevati, and Feyzollah Arabsorkhi. The mojahedin have been called a key political group, many Iranian intellectuals were involved in establishing a foundation for the movement. Perhaps the most influential figure was Abdolkarim Soroush, for many years, he was the only voice publicly criticizing the regimes policies. His regular lectures at Tehran University used to enjoy the attendance of many of the Iranian students who later generated the 2nd of Khordad movement, many famous figures of the movement belong to the Soroush circle. However, at the rise of 2nd of Khordad movement, Saeed Hajjarian acted as the main theorist behind the movement, also there were many media in supporting of the reformation like the Iran-e-farda and kian magazinez. Khatamis support is said to have cut across regions and class lines with even some revolutionary guards, qom seminarians, the core of his electoral support, however, came from the modern middle class, college students, women, and urban workers. For example, by 1995, about half of Irans 60.5 million people were too young to be alive at the time of the Islamic Revolution. The movement began with the May 23,1997, surprise victory of Mohammad Khatami, a little known cleric, to the presidency on with almost 70% of the vote. Khatamis win was credited largely to the votes of women and youth who voted for him because he promised to improve the status of women and respond to the demands of the younger generation in Iran. Another reflection of the enthusiasm for reform was that voter turnout was 80%, Khatami is regarded as Irans first reformist president, since the focus of his campaign was on the rule of law, democracy and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process. Very soon after the rise of the 2nd of Khordad movement, in March,2000, he was shot in the face on the doorstep of Tehrans city council by a gunman who fled on a motor-cycle with an accomplice. The bullet entered through his cheek and lodged in his neck. He was not killed but was paralyzed for some time. During his coma, groups of young Iranians kept a vigil outside Sina hospital, due to this injury, Hajjarian now uses a walking frame, and his voice is distorted. His convicted assailant Saeed Asgar, a man who was reported to be a member of the Basij militia
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Monarchism in Iran
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Iranian monarchism is the advocacy of restoring the constitutional monarchy in Iran, which was abolished after the 1979 Revolution. Iran first became a monarchy in 1905, but underwent a period of autocracy during the years 1925–1941. During the years 1941 to 1953, Iran remained a constitutional monarchy, in practice, however, his position was largely ceremonial, similar to that of Queen Elizabeth II. In March 15,1951, the National Assembly, led by Prime Minister Hossein Ala, unanimously voted to nationalize the oil industry, in 1953, the British MI6 and American CIA orchestrated a coup against Mohammed Mossadeghs government. The Shah, who had gone into exile during the coup, returned to Iran, many contemporary sources attribute the coup, or counter coup, entirely to the U. S. American CIA and agents of the British MI6 who are reported to have organized and these sources point to many other coups in which the CIA was instrumental, such as those in Congo, Chile, and Algeria. Monarchists, however, argue that the counter-coup was in fact a popular uprising, at least some historians argue the coup could not have taken place without both CIA organizing and Iranian support. Afterwards, the era of constitutional monarchy gradually came to an end as the Shah increasingly exercised his executive powers unilaterally, by the early 1970s, with most political parties having been banned, Iran had effectively become a one-party state under Rastakhiz. National Front leaders like Karim Sanjabi and moderate traditional Islamic leaders like Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari continued to espouse a constitutional monarchy, within several days the Shahs government had effectively collapsed and the Second Revolution had begun. The new provisional revolutionary government officially abolished the monarchy and declared Iran to be a republic, the following year, in 1980, the Islamic Republic of Iran was established under the Supreme Leadership of Ruhollah Khomeini. In the months following the Revolution, former Field Marshal of the Imperial Armed Forces Bahram Aryana organized a counter-revolution in exile, fearing a growing counter-revolution, Prince Shahriar was assassinated in Paris in December 1979 by Khomeinist agents, which was a major setback for the monarchist resistance. Monarchist parties and organizations are prohibited by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and monarchists. However, monarchists remain active in Los Angeles and maintain links with their organizations and parties in Europe such as Azadegan, Rastakhiz and Kingdom Assembly of Iran specifically calls for the return of the House of Pahlavi to the throne. Rastakhiz Constitutionalist Party of Iran Sarbazan and Janbakhtegan Iranian monarchy Politics of Iran Political parties in Iran Tondar Azadegan
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Liberalism in Iran
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This article provides an overview of liberalism in Iran. It is limited to the Iranian liberal movement and liberal parties with substantial support, freedom is a universal human possibility. A politician and former Iranian Prime Minister, Foroughis writings and translations during that period were mainly discussions of the norms of constitutionality. During a political career lasted over seventy years, the political views of Hasan Taqizadeh are not characterized by an ideological continuity. Taqizadeh was raised in Tabriz, the capital of Azarbaijan province and this led to him showing an early interest in enlightenment ideas and constitutionalism. Under Taqizadeh’s guidance the first modern political party, Ferqeh-ye Demokrat-e Iran, was founded in Iran in 1909, shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Taqizadeh allied with Germany against Russia and Britain. In Berlin he established the Komiteh-ye Iran, and with other prominent Iranian intellectuals, published the influential periodical Kaveh, Kaveh was a political and literary journal which greatly contributed to creation of Iranian consciousness and national identity. This journal emphasized the need for independence, and internal reforms, especially secular. The implementation of liberal values in Iran following the Islamic Revolution has been characterized by extreme shifts, revolutionary Guards were dispatched to crush Kurdish, Turkomen and other groups agitating for a new place in the republic. When the Iran–Iraq War broke out in September 1980, this kind of sub-national agitation became at once blasphemy, although pluralism is officially condemned, the regime was also particularly characterized by a denial of the principal of popular sovereignty. Sovereignty is God’s alone, and although in the Islamic republic the people elect their political representatives, moreover, a Constitutional Council reviews all parliamentary legislation to ensure that it conforms to the sharia and the Iranian constitution. The theory of vilayet-e faqih, in respects, represents the continuation of the imamate doctrine in Shiite Islam. It features the element of rational deputyship according to the peoples choice, however, the main factor – the individual rule of a charismatic leader – remains unchanged. For example, connections to foreign institutions, persons, or sources of funding are enough to bring criminal charges such as undermining national security against individuals, the predominantly reformist parliament drafted several bills allowing increased freedom of speech, gender equality, and the banning of torture. Despite the initial optimism, these bills were all dismissed or significantly watered down by the Guardian Council and leading conservative figures in the Iranian government at the time. Regarding the gradual unraveling of the reformist movement, an article from The Economist magazine said, the new government continues to close down newspapers, silence dissenting voices and ban or censor books and websites. The peaceful demonstrations and protests of the Khatami era are no longer tolerated, in January 2007 security forces attacked striking bus drivers in Tehran, in March, police beat hundreds of men and women who had assembled to commemorate International Womens Day. At least twenty people were hospitalized and hundreds were arrested, in the attack, ahmad Batebi, a demonstrator in the July 1999 Iranian student riots, received a death sentence for propaganda against the Islamic Republic System
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Iranian nationalism
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Iranian nationalism refers to nationalism among the people of Iran and individuals whose national identity is Iranian. Iranian nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Iranian culture, Persian language and history, whilst national consciousness in Iran can be traced back for centuries, nationalism has been a predominant determinant of Iranian attitudes mainly since the 20th century. During the Pahlavi dynasty, Iranian nationalism experienced a resurgence due to the Pahlavi governments bolstering of patriotic sentiment, the idea of Iran as a religious, cultural, and ethnic reality goes back as far as the end of the 6th century B. C. E. As a political idea, we first catch sight of it in the twenties of the 3rd century C. E. as a feature of Sassanian propaganda. Third-century Iran was shaken by a conflict between universalism and nationalism that was most clearly manifest in the religious and cultural sphere. The outcome of conflict is well known, the traditionalistic and nationalistic impulses gained the upper hand. This ideology became more and more accentuated during the Sassanian period and it was primarily concerned with preserving Persian culture and protecting Persian identity. Many consider Ferdowsi a Shuubi poet, the term Iranian Intermezzo represents a period in Middle Eastern history which saw the rise of various native Iranian Muslim dynasties on the Iranian Plateau. This term is noteworthy since it was an interlude between the decline of Abbāsid Arab rule and power and the emergence of the Seljuq Turks in the 11th century. The Iranian revival consisted of Iranian support based on Iranian territory and most significantly a revived Iranian national spirit, Iran regained its political unity and was given a new distinct religious identity under the Safavids. Shia became the state religion and henceforth played an important role in the reconstruction of a new ethno-religious identity for the Iranian people. The formation of political entities helped create a distinct Iranian-Shia political identity among these polities. It also helped to expand the hegemony of Persian language in much of the Islamic world, Persian literature was, apart from Iran and its territories stretching from the North Caucasus to the Persian Gulf, produced from Anatolia to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The modern Iranian national movement began in the late 19th century, Iranian nationalism is in origin a reaction to 19th-century European colonialism in the region, which led to the loss of Qajar possessions in the Caucasus. These territories had made, for centuries, part of the concept of Iran until their loss, modern nationalism in Iran dates back to 1906, when an almost bloodless constitutional revolution created Irans first parliament. Reza Shah, helped shape Iranian nationalism by infusing it with a secular ideology. By integrating European legal polices in replace of Islamic courts, Shah reassured the efficiency of the state bureaucracy, Iranian nationalism was a deciding force in the 1951 movement to nationalize Irans oil wealth. Mosadeqq goal of nationalizing Iran’s oil came into effect in the year 1951, after Mosadeqq deposition guided by the help from the U. S. Reza Shah redeemed control and used the increased gas prices to expand modernization in Iran
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