 Theocratic Presidential Democracy  Supreme Leader, Assembly of Experts, Guardian Council, President, Parliament, Expediency Council

President  Elected for 4 Years by universal suffrage  Appoints Ministers 21 and Vice Presidents 10  Drafts laws to be approved by Parliament  Does not control the military  Candidates Approved by Guardian Council  6000 applications for 2013 election

Parliament  290 members elected to 4 year terms.  draft legislation, ratify treaties, approve national budget.  candidates and all legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council.

Assembly of Experts  86 ‘virtuous and learned’ clerics  Elected to 8 year terms  Candidates must pass a written examination administered by the Guardian Council  Meet twice annually  Appoint and remove the Supreme Leader

Expediency Council  mediates disputes between Parliament and the Guardian Council  heads of the three government branches, clerical members of the Guardian Council and other members appointed by the supreme leader for three-year terms

Guardian Council  12 jurists, 6 clerics appointed by Supreme Leader, 6 elected by the Parliament  interprets the constitution, rejects bills incompatible with the constitution or Sharia  approves candidates for national election

Supreme Leader  Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei  Appointed and Supervised by the Assembly of Experts  Head of State with powers over defence and religious affairs  Veto legislation  Declare War and Peace with 2/3 approval of Parliament

Iranian Islamic Revolution 1979

 Conservative, Liberal, Religious, Secular  Increasing westernization and secularization  Cultural pollution  Overambitious economic reforms  Economic decline following 1973 oil boom  Oppressive extravagant regime  SAVAK  Underestimation of the Khomeinist movement

 Advertised as implementing Western reforms  strengthen upper classes that support Monarchy,  Gain support of the peasantry  Weaken middle class influence  1963 national referendum: 5,598,711 for 4,115 against  Land Reform: 90% of sharecroppers become land owners  Privatisation of Government industry  Free Education, Extended Health Services, Welfare, Improve Literacy Rates, Women’s Suffrage, Housing Equality, Nationalisation for Forest Land,, Price Stabalisation

 Industrial growth  Secondary Education 370,000 to 741,000  College Education 24,885 to 145,210  Literacy 26% to 42%  Marriage age raised to 15, Women can vote, hold public office, serve as judges and lawyers  The intelligentsia and the urban working class grew 4X in population  Disaffected by the outlawing of political parties, associations, unions and independent newspapers  Land Reform: large numbers of independent farmers and landless laborers disaffected by corruption.  Most unable to buy enough land to sustain farming

 1935 Pahlavi’s father outlawed Islamic dress and replaced sharia with Western law  Ulema loss influence over education and family law  Clerical institutions dependent on rents which land reform severely reduced  Rise of Khoemeini  Arrested 1963 sparking protests, 1964 exiled for 15 years

 Jalal Al-e Ahmed, Gharbzadegi (Westoxification)  velayat e faqih government should be run in accordance with traditional sharia, for this to happen a leading jurist must provide political "guardianship“  "more necessary even than prayer and fasting“  "export of revolution does not mean interfering in other nation's affairs“ but "answering their questions about knowing God“  "Establishing the Islamic state world-wide belong to the great goals of the revolution."

 Feb 1, Khomeini in Tehran  'I shall kick their teeth in. I appoint the government in support of this nation‘  "Decade of Fajr."  Supreme Military Council "neutral”  Feb 11, Victory Day

 protect the Revolution and assist the ruling clerics in the enforcement of the new government's Islamic codes and morality  Preventing foreign intervention, military coupe, border security  125K guards 90K Basiji militia  Quds Force, special forces unconventional warfare roles providing assistance and training to various organizations around the world

 1983, Revolution consolidated  1979 Hostage crisis  End of relations with US  Middle East Cold War: Iran, Syria, Hezbollah vs Egypt, Jordan, Gulf States

 Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei  Iran Iraq War 1980 – 88  Gulf War I  Gulf War II  Green Movement  Contemporary Issues  Nuclear  Destabilized Iraq  ISIS (Islamic State)

 Presidents  Ali Akbar Rafsanjani  1997 Mohammad Khatami  “Dialogue of Civilizations  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 2005 – 2013  2009 Election Protests (Green Movement)  Hassan Rouhani August 2013

 Anniversary of 1999 Protests  Peaceful action turned violent after announcement of election results  “Where is my vote”  February 2010, attempts to stage protests in support of Arab revolutions met with government crackdown  Civil Rights vs Regime Change  Attempts to exploit the movement, US, Saudi, Expats

 P5 + 1 China, Russia, US, UK, France, Germany  Points of contention  Stockpiling  Sanctions,  Enrichment  Resistance from US Congress

 Iran's enrichment capacity, enrichment level and stockpile will be limited for specified durations.  There will be no enrichment facilities other than Natanz.  Iran is allowed to conduct research and development on centrifuges with an agreed scope and schedule.  Fordo, the underground enrichment center, will be converted to a "nuclear, physics and technology centre"  Sanctions Relief  Sanctions imposed by the UN, US and EU in an attempt to force Iran to halt uranium enrichment have crippled its economy, costing the country more than $160bn (£110bn) in oil revenue since 2012 alone. Iran stands to gain access to more than $100bn in assets frozen overseas, and will be able to resume selling oil on international markets and using the global financial system for trade

 Will warmer diplomatic ties with the West develop?  Will inclusion in the global economy and lifting sanctions bolster reformists?  What effects will this have on the US partnership with Israel and the Gulf States  What will be Iran’s role in challenging Islamic State?  Will Iran expand its regional influence?  Who might be the next Supreme Leader?