Islamic Republic of Iran
The political system born of the 1979 Revolution and established by referendum, combining clerical Shia rule under velayat-e faqih with republican institutions.
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- Established
- 1979 (referendum)
- Founder / First Leader
- Ayatollah Khomeini
- Founding principle
- Velayat-e faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist)
- Capital
- Tehran
Detail
The Islamic Republic of Iran was established following the victory of the 1979 Revolution and the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy, via a referendum in April 1979, with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as its leader. Its political system rests on the principle of velayat-e faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist), in which the Supreme Leader stands atop the power structure alongside elected bodies such as the presidency and parliament and appointed institutions such as the Guardian Council. The early years were consumed by the consolidation of power, the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis (1979–1981), and the eight-year war with Iraq (1980–1988), which exacted a heavy human and economic toll. After Khomeini's death in 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became Supreme Leader. The Islamic Republic has faced continual tensions with the West, economic sanctions especially over its nuclear program, and recurrent waves of domestic protest; assessments of its record remain contested and sharply divided.
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Sources
- Encyclopædia Iranica, "Constitution of the Islamic Republic"
- Ervand Abrahamian, A History of Modern Iran
- Said Amir Arjomand, After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors