Iranian State Structure
From looking at it, one might believe that the Iranian State Structure has much in common with other countries. The structure features a president who is elected by popular vote, a boisterous legislature and a Judiciary system.
The main difference in the Iranian State Structure and that of the United States is that the Iranian Supreme Leader exerts ideological and political control over a system that is dominated by clerics. This team of leaders shadows every major function within the state structure.
At the very top of Iran’s power structure is the Supreme Leader, who is currently Ayatollah Ali Khomeini. The Supreme Leader is responsible for the delineation and supervision of general policies with Iran. He sets the tone and the direction of domestic and foreign policies and stands as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, as well as controls the Islamic Republic’s intelligence and security operations.
He is the only leader in Iran who has the power to declare war or peace. He also retains the power to appoint and dismiss leaders of the Judiciary, radio and television networks and the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also appoints half of the members of the Council of Guardians.
The Iranian President is the second highest ranking official in the country. Although the president has a very high public profile, his power is held back by the constitution. Iran is the only state in which the executive branch of government does not control the country’s armed forces.
The president is responsible, however, for setting the economic policies. He also has eight vice presidents who serve under him, as well as a cabinet made up of 22 ministers.
The Iranian Parliament has 290 members who are publicly elected each four years.
The Parliament drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties and approves the budget for the country. The Iranian State Structure also consists of an Assembly of Experts who meets for one week every year. This 86 member Assembly elect the Supreme Leader from within their own ranks and periodically reconfirm him.
The 12 member Council of Guardians has the responsibility to interpret the Iranian constitution and determine if the laws that Parliament passes are in line with Islamic law. The council also determines whether or not candidates are qualified to run in the presidential elections.
The Expediency Council has the purpose of mediating disputes between the Council of Guardians and Parliament.
The Judiciary branch of the Iranian government is significantly controlled by the Supreme Leader.
The head of the Judiciary appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the chief Public Prosecutor.