IRAN

SOURCE –INDIAN EXPRESS

CONTEXT

Khomeini established his clerical rule after Iran’s 1979revolution, many expected the new regime to collapse but he purged internal dissent and consolidated the clergy's grip over the country

POLITICAL STRUCTURE

• Iran‘s state has both elected and unelected branches and the unelected branch is more powerful.
• The President, Parliament, and the Assembly of experts are directly elected, while the Supreme Leader, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Council are appointed by the clergy.
• The president is the head of the government, which is in charge of running the day–to–day affairs of the country, but is not the head of the state
• The Presidential term is four years, and the president cannot have more than two consecutive terms.
• The Supreme Leader is both the political leader and spiritual guide of the Islamic republic.
• Unlike the President, the Supreme Leader doesn't have any fixed term
• The constitution mandates the 88-member Assembly of Experts to elect the Supreme Leader.
• The Assembly which also has the authority to oversee and dismiss the supreme leader is directly elected, but the candidates are strictly vetted by the Guardian council, whose members are directly or indirectly picked by the Supreme Leader.

POLITICAL REBELLIONS

• In 1896, Naser al-Din Shah, the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran was assassinated inside a mosque in Tehran
• The assassination and its aftermath would eventually lead to the constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911, which led to the establishment of a parliament in Persia.
• Reza Shah Pahlavi unleashed his forces on disgruntled protestors, which eventually led to his downfall
• When Shah fled the country in January 1979 Khomeini was in Paris. He landed in Tehran‘s Mehrabad airport, which was controlled by the revolutionaries, on Feb 1, 1979. They turned a disused girls' school in Central Tehran into a make-shift headquarters of the Revolutionary Council. One of the first things Khomeini did was to form a paramilitary force –the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• But the Islamists could not ignore other sections of the revolution completely. So Khomeini ushered in a new system that would have an elected President and Parliament, while the clerics would remain firmly in control. He promised an Islamic revolutionary government based on sharia, a model which he called Vilayat -e-Faqih

CLERICAL CONTROL

• In the election process, all candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council, which usually disqualifies most candidates.
• The 290-member Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles) has the authority to legislate. But all the Bills the Majles passes should go to the unelected Guardian Council, which would vet whether the bill complies with the Islamic constitution and values.
• The powerful Guardian Council has 12 members, a combination of six experts, who will directly be appointed by the supreme leader.
• So the supreme Leader’s office has direct or indirect control over the Guardian Council which oversees the elections, vets the candidates’ and has a veto over Parliament.

ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY

• The Supreme Leader doesn’t have any fixed term.
• Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has had only two supreme Leaders –Khomeini (who died in 1989) and Khamenei.
• The Constitution mandates the 88member Assembly of Experts to elect the Supreme Leader. The Assembly which also has the authority to oversee and dismiss the supreme Leader is directly elected, but the candidates are strictly vetted by the Guardian Council, whose members are directly or indirectly picked by the Supreme Leader.
• If there are legal disputes between the elected Majles and the unelected Guardian Council, the 45-member Expediency Council, which advises the Supreme Leader, will have ultimate adjudicating powers
• All 45 members of the council are appointed by the Supreme Leader, who is also the commander –in chief of the armed forces.
• The 1979 Islamic Constitution ensures that the supreme Leader and Clerical establishment stay firmly in charge of all branches of the state.

PRINCIPALISTS AND REFORMISTS

• The political class is broadly divided into two categories –Principalists (called hardliners by western media) and reformists.
• The principalists make up the conservative bloc that enjoys the support of the clergy, whereas reformists advocate political and social reforms from within.
• Currently, the Principlists currently control all government branches, including the Presidency and the Majles.
• The election of Mohammad Khatami as President in 1997 was a critical moment for reformist politics but Mr Khatami, an influential and popular reformist, failed to usher in any major changes in the system, which is guarded by the clergy and the security establishment.
• When Khomeini established his clerical rule after the revolution, many expected the new regime to collapse. On contrary, Khomeini purged internal dissent and consolidated the clergy's grip when the country was fighting an eight-year-long war with Iraq
• Four decades later, the system the Ayatollah built has started showing signs of age, with repeat mass protests, counter mobilization, and state violence, overshadowed by an unending economic crisis. While the regime is still trying to keep the memories of the revolution alive the protestors in the street tell a different tale.
• The uprising over the death of Mahsa Amini could be the latest flare-up but it is unlikely to be the last as the social disquiet in the Islamic Republic refuses to die down.