The elected and unelected institutions and where power concentrates — from the constitution and scholarly sources, separating constitutional design from contested practice. Bidar takes no side.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, defined by the 1979 constitution (revised 1989), places elected institutions (the presidency, the Majlis, and the Assembly of Experts) alongside appointed or unelected bodies (the Supreme Leader, the Guardian Council, the judiciary, and the Expediency Council). At the apex sits the Supreme Leader, who supervises all three branches and appoints a wide range of officials. Observers describe the system as a 'hybrid' combining republican and theocratic elements. Many analysts hold that when the two layers conflict, the unelected bodies prevail — an interpretive, contested assessment.
Under Articles 5, 57 and 110 of the constitution, the Supreme Leader is the highest political and religious authority and head of state, a position typically held for life. Its basis is velayat-e faqih ('guardianship of the jurist'), formulated by Ayatollah Khomeini. The Leader's powers include setting the system's general policies, commanding all armed forces, appointing and dismissing military and IRGC chiefs, and appointing the head of the judiciary and six clerics of the Guardian Council. The Leader is selected by the Assembly of Experts, which also supervises and, if he loses the qualifications, removes him.
The Assembly of Experts is a body of qualified jurists (currently 88 members) directly elected every eight years. Its principal legal function is to select the Supreme Leader, supervise whether he retains the required qualifications, and remove him if necessary (Articles 107 and 111). Its candidates must first be vetted by the Guardian Council, half of whose members are appointed by the Leader. Critics argue this mutual-vetting loop limits the Assembly's oversight in practice — an interpretive, contested assessment.
The Guardian Council has twelve members: six clerics appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, and six jurists nominated by the head of the judiciary and approved by parliament. It has three core functions: reviewing parliamentary legislation for conformity with the constitution and Islamic law (a legislative veto), supervising elections, and approving or disqualifying candidates for the Majlis, presidency and Assembly of Experts (Articles 91–99). Owing to its 'approbatory supervision' and the scale of disqualifications, many scholars regard it as the system's most consequential gatekeeper; in 2021, only seven of hundreds of presidential hopefuls were approved.
The president is the highest official after the Supreme Leader and head of the executive branch, directly elected for a four-year term (maximum two consecutive). Duties include executing the laws, setting policy within the parameters set by the Leader, managing the budget and nominating ministers. Unlike many presidential systems, Iran's president is not commander-in-chief of the armed forces; that authority rests solely with the Leader. Scholars therefore describe the presidency's real powers as limited, especially over security, the armed forces, state broadcasting and the judiciary.
The Majlis is Iran's unicameral legislature with 290 seats, directly elected by district for four-year terms; five seats are reserved for recognized religious minorities. It holds powers of legislation, budget approval, impeachment and confidence votes. However, all of its bills must be approved by the Guardian Council before taking effect, and candidacies are vetted by that same Council. Clerical representation fell from over half of members in 1980 to around 5% in 2020.
The Expediency Discernment Council was created by the Leader's decree in Feb 1988 and constitutionalized in the 1989 revision; all its members are appointed by the Supreme Leader for five-year terms. Its principal function is to resolve disputes between the Majlis and the Guardian Council: when the Council rejects a bill and parliament insists, the matter is referred to the Expediency Council for a final decision weighing the 'interest of the system' (Article 112). It also advises the Leader in drafting the system's general policies.
The constitution (Article 156) defines the judiciary as an 'independent power,' but under Article 157 its head is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader for a five-year term. The head of the judiciary nominates the chief of the Supreme Court and the prosecutor-general, and also nominates the six jurists who sit on the Guardian Council. The structure includes the Supreme Court, general and revolutionary courts, the Special Clerical Court and the Court of Administrative Justice. Because of the Leader's appointment power, some human-rights organizations have questioned the judiciary's practical independence — an interpretive, contested assessment.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, Sepah) is a military force parallel to and separate from the regular army, founded in 1979, whose commander-in-chief is appointed by the Supreme Leader. It has five branches: Ground Forces, Aerospace Force, Navy, the Quds Force (extraterritorial operations) and the Basij (a volunteer militia). Beyond its military role, the IRGC controls broad sectors of Iran's economy through affiliated companies and foundations, and many officials are drawn from its ranks. Analysts describe it as an institution of wide-ranging influence; precise estimates of its economic share are contested.
Iran maintains two parallel armed forces: the regular army (Artesh), which continues the pre-revolution conventional military, and the IRGC, founded after the revolution in 1979. Under the constitution (Articles 143 and 150), the army guards the borders and defends against conventional threats, while the IRGC is defined principally as guardian of the revolution. Both are under the Leader's command, but analysts describe the army as more professional and largely apolitical, in contrast to the IRGC as an ideological institution with broad political and economic influence — this relative comparison is interpretive.
Iran holds periodic elections for the presidency, parliament, Assembly of Experts and local councils, but all candidates for the presidency, Majlis and Assembly must first pass the Guardian Council's vetting. The Council disqualifies most applicants; in 2021 only seven of hundreds of presidential hopefuls were approved, with no appeal. Many scholars and human-rights organizations argue this narrows the field before voting and 'engineers' outcomes; officials describe it as ensuring candidates' commitment to the constitution. Assessments of its consequences are contested.
Many scholars and international analytical institutions argue that effective power in the Islamic Republic concentrates largely in the Supreme Leader and the unelected bodies under his influence — especially the Guardian Council, the judiciary, the Expediency Council and the IRGC — while elected institutions such as the presidency and parliament operate within parameters those bodies set. Islamic Republic officials, by contrast, emphasize the system's republican elements and popular participation. This is an interpretive assessment that should be attributed to the sources advancing it, not stated as undisputed fact.