1979 Revolution In 1979, Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by an
Islamic Revolution in Iran, replacing its millennia-old monarchy with a theocratic republic. Shortly after, the leader of the Revolution, a senior Islamic jurist named Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, also transliterated Khumaynî, successfully supported referendums to declare Iran an Islamic Republic in March 1979, and to approve a constitution in December 1979, whereby "the Islamic government" would be "based upon
wilayat al-faqih", (
Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) "as proposed by Imam Khumaynî", quoting the preamble of the constitution. The constitution (which was drafted by an assembly made up primarily by disciples of Khomeini), calls for a
Vali-ye faqih (Guardian Islamic Jurist), to serve as the
Supreme Leader of Iran, and for Islamic jurists to serve in other powerful institutions such as the
Guardian Council and
Assembly of Experts.
Establishment of guardianship of the jurist Guardianship of the Jurist is a concept in
Twelver Shia Islamic
law, which holds that, in
the absence of the "
Infallible Imam", who, according to Twelver beliefs, is the religious and political leader of Islam and will reappear sometime before
Judgement Day, righteous Shi'i jurists (
faqīh) should administer "some" of the "religious and social affairs" of the Shi'i community. and the basis of government in
Islamic Republic of Iran—the state and society are ruled by an Islamic jurist. Khomeini served as the Guardian Jurist
Supreme Leader of Iran until his death in 1989. His successor,
Ali Khamenei, ruled from 1989 until his assassination in 2026. He is succeeded by his son,
Mojtaba Khamenei. In a 1970 book on the subject circulated to his network of supporters, Khomeini argued that since Islamic
sharia law contains everything needed to rule a state, whether ancient or modern, any other basis of governance will lead to injustice and sin. Thus Iran, the Muslim world and eventually the whole world, must be ruled according to sharia, and the person who should rule according to sharia, is an expert in that form of law. These Guardians are deemed the true holders of both religious and political authority, who must be obeyed as "an expression of obedience to God", and whose rule has "precedence over all secondary ordinances in Islam such as
prayer,
fasting, and
pilgrimage."
Post-revolutionary political conditions The early days of the revolutionary government were characterized by political tumult. In November 1979, the
US embassy was seized and its occupants
taken hostage and kept captive for 444 days, because of US support for the
Shah (monarch) of Iran. The eight-year
Iran–Iraq War killed hundreds of thousands and cost the country billions of dollars. By the early 1980s, power struggles ended in leftists and nationalists eliminated from all governmental institutions, and the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini and his supporters firmly in control. Iran's post-revolution challenges have included the imposition
of economic sanctions and the suspension of
diplomatic relations with Iran by the United States because of the hostage crisis, political support to Iraq and other acts of terrorism that the U.S. government and some others have accused Iran of sponsoring. Emigration from Iran has
cost Iran millions of educated people, including entrepreneurs, professionals, technicians, and skilled craftspeople and their capital. Poverty rose by nearly 45% in absolute terms during the first 6 years of the Iran-Iraq War, and according to the World Bank, by the time the war ended in 1988, per capita income was a little more than half of what it had been in 1976, shortly before the revolution. During the
2026 Iran war and following the elimination Iran's leadership, the IRGC rose as the main power in the country. Based on reports Iran has transformed its leadership to a military junta.
Human rights Background The alleged tyranny and brutality towards all opposition of the monarchy was one of the propaganda themes of the Islamic revolution, but the Islamic Republic has not tolerated opposition to its system of government, since, as mentioned above, it believes disobedience to it is disobedience to God. In 1984, Iran's representative to the United Nations, Saʿid Rajaʾie-Khorassani, declared the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be representing a "secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which did not "accord with the system of values recognized by the Islamic Republic of Iran" and whose provisions the IRI would "not hesitate to violate". In reply to international criticism of repression, Iranian officials loyal to the Supreme Leader deny wrongdoing, maintaining its human rights record is better than western countries who criticize its record. In 2004, Judiciary chief Ayatollah
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, denied that there were any political prisoners in Iran, saying "The world may consider certain cases, by their nature, political crimes, but because we do not have a law in this regard, these are considered ordinary offenses." In 2008, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad replied to a question about human rights by stating that Iran has fewer prisoners than the US and "the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared ... with some European countries and the United States." Whether the Islamic Republic goes well beyond what Sunni and many Shia Muslims consider Islamic exceptions to international human rights norms, is also an issue. Khomeini's January 1988 pronouncement "... that [Islamic] government is a branch of the Prophet's absolute Wilayat and one of the primary (first order) rules of Islam that has priority over all ordinances of the law even praying, fasting and Hajj…The Islamic State could prevent implementation of everything – devotional and non- devotional – that so long as it seems against Islam's interests", leads Ann Elizabeth Mayer to argue that this theory of
velayat-e motlaqaye faqih ("the absolute authority of the jurist") "freed" the Islamic Republic "to do as it chose-even if this meant violating fundamental pillars of the religion ...", and that this doctrine, not sharia law, explained "the prevalence of torture and punishment of political dissent" in the Islamic Republic. On the other hand, despite the vast popularity of Khomeini in Iran before and after the revolution, (approximately 10 million people are estimated to have participated in his funeral in a country of about 60 million), observers (Akbar Ganji, Arzoo Osanloo,
Hooman Majd) have suggested there is no widespread support for violent crackdowns on dissent in contemporary Iran. "Notions of democracy and human rights" now have much deeper roots among Iranians than under the Shah, and in fact are "almost hegemonic" (Arzoo Osanloo), so that it is much harder to spread fear among them, even to the point that if Iranian intelligence services "were to arrest anyone who speaks ill of the government in private, they simply couldn't build cells fast enough to hold their prisoners", according to journalist Hooman Majd.
Situation The Islamic Republic centralized and drastically expanded the prison system of the previous regime. In one early period (1981–1985) more than 7,900 people were executed.
Somewhere between 3,000 and 30,000 political prisoners were executed between July and early September 1988 on orders of the Ayatollah Khomeini, causing a 2020 UN Special Rapporteurs to send a letter to the regime describing the killings as "crimes against humanity". The Islamic Republic has been criticized both for restrictions and punishments that follow the Islamic Republic's constitution and law, but not international human rights norms (harsh penalties for crimes, punishment of
victimless crimes, restrictions on
freedom of speech and
the press, restrictions on
freedom of religion, etc.); and for "extrajudicial" actions that follow neither, such as firebombings of newspaper offices, and beatings, torture, rape, and killing without trial of political prisoners and dissidents/civilians.
Protests While the Islamic Republic has been noted for its political stability, political protests against perceived corruption and injustice have become more severe and common in the twenty-first century. Nevertheless, at least one analyst, Seth G. Jones, believes that as of 2019, "the Iranian protest movement is ... too decentralized and Iranian security forces ... too strong" for the regime to be in danger of being overthrown by protesters. Some protests include: •
Iran student protests, July 1999: Protested the closure of the reformist newspaper (
Salam), and violent attack on a student dormitory by riot police.
Disappearance of more than seventy students, 1,200–1,400 arrested. •
2009 Iranian presidential election protests: Protest against alleged voting fraud and irregularities during the 2009 election. An estimated 36 killed according to Iranian government, 72 killed according to opposition. •
2011–12 Iranian protests: Protest against alleged electoral fraud during 2009 elections, violation of human rights, lack of freedom of speech,
corruption. •
2017–18 Iranian protests: Protest against economic hardships, government corruption, Iranian involvement in regional conflicts, the autocratic government of
Ali Khamenei, human rights violations; 23-25 killed, 4,972 people arrested. •
2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests: Protests against economic hardships, government corruption, Iranian involvement in regional conflicts. 300+ arrested. •
2019–20 Iranian protests: Protest against government corruption, fuel price increases, human rights abuses, in favor of regime change. an estimated 1,500 killed, 7,000+ arrested. •
2021–2022 Iranian protests: Protested the ongoing water shortages and blackouts of electricity all over Iran. An estimated 11 people killed, over 100 arrested. •
2025–2026 Iranian protests: Beginning on 28 December 2025, the events have been described as the largest uprising since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The ensuing crackdown resulted in the
2026 Iran massacres. ==Leading figures and institutions==