Iran’s government is often described as complex, opaque, and contradictory—for good reason. While the country holds presidential elections, its most powerful figures are not elected by popular vote. At the center is a layered system of religious councils, appointed authorities, and military-aligned clerics who operate far beyond public scrutiny.
Understanding who holds power in Iran means understanding who can override it. And often, that’s not the president.
1. Iran’s Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
At the top sits Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader since 1989. Succeeding the revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei has spent over three decades consolidating authority across every major institution. His power is not symbolic—it is absolute.
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He serves as commander-in-chief of Iran’s military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) answers directly to him.
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He appoints top judicial, media, and military officials, including the chief justice, head of state broadcasting, and senior military advisors.
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He holds final say on foreign policy, nuclear negotiations, and religious matters.
Khamenei’s inner circle—largely invisible to the public—includes lifelong confidants like Mohammad Golpayegani, who leads the Supreme Leader’s office, and a cadre of advisors managing everything from foreign policy to internal security.
Among them:
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Ali Akbar Velayati, former foreign minister and senior advisor on international affairs
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Kamal Kharazi, trusted counselor on foreign policy, including recent nuclear talks
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Ali Larijani, former parliament speaker and policy strategist
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Ali Asghar Hejazi, a top intelligence figure overseeing political-security affairs
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Mohammad Forouzandeh, a former IRGC chief now advising on military matters
Even his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, a mid-ranking cleric with strong ties to the IRGC, is rumored to be groomed as a successor.
See also: The Hidden Dangers of Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Facilities—It’s Not Only What You Think
2. The President: Masoud Pezeshkian
Iran’s current president, Masoud Pezeshkian, took office in July 2024. A 69-year-old heart surgeon and reformist, Pezeshkian won on promises of economic revitalization and easing tensions with the West. But in Iran, the president’s power is limited by design.
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He manages economic and domestic policy
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Oversees the ministries and bureaucracy
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But lacks control over the military, judiciary, or nuclear file
Reformist or not, Pezeshkian operates under the watchful eye of the Supreme Leader, who can override or nullify presidential initiatives through unelected institutions.
3. The Guardian Council
If the Supreme Leader sets the rules, the Guardian Council enforces them. This 12-member body, half of whom are appointed directly by Khamenei, vets all political candidates and legislation.
Its de facto leader, Ahmad Jannati, has become notorious for disqualifying reformists and ensuring ideological loyalty. Under his leadership, the Council has systematically narrowed the political field to figures aligned with the ruling clerical elite.
See also: Israel and Iran Are At War. Here’s What’s Happening—and Why the U.S. Is Involved
4. The Assembly of Experts
On paper, this 88-member clerical body oversees the Supreme Leader and holds the theoretical power to dismiss him. In practice, it is the body responsible for selecting his successor—a role it played in elevating Khamenei in 1989.
Today, the Assembly is led by Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani, a deeply conservative ayatollah with longstanding ties to the revolutionary leadership. Like the College of Cardinals in the Vatican, this assembly operates largely behind closed doors—but its next decision may shape Iran for decades.
5. The Judiciary: Controlled from Above
The judicial branch in Iran is neither independent nor apolitical. Since 2021, Chief Justice Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejhi, a hardline prosecutor and longtime loyalist to Khamenei, has overseen the system. The judiciary routinely prosecutes dissenters, enforces morality codes, and legitimizes state repression.
Ejhi was appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, and his role is as much political as it is legal.
6. Parliament and the Presidential Cabinet
Iran’s Majlis, or parliament, holds 290 elected seats. But its power is checked at every turn—by the Guardian Council, the Expediency Council, and ultimately the Supreme Leader.
The current Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was reelected in May 2025. A former mayor of Tehran and IRGC general, Ghalibaf has been linked to violent student crackdowns in 1999 and 2003. Though technically part of the elected government, he is firmly embedded in the regime’s security elite.
Inside the executive, key figures include:
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Mohammad Reza Aref, First Vice President and the highest-ranking reformist in office
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Mohsen Esmaeili, VP for Parliamentary and Strategic Affairs, known for pushing legislative deals across factional divides
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Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister and a veteran nuclear negotiator from the 2015 deal, reappointed in August 2024
See also: What Is the Massive Ordnance Penetrator? The U.S. Bomb Built to Collapse a Mountain
7. The Friday Prayer and the Politics of the Pulpit
One of the most influential unelected voices in Iran is Ahmad Khatami, a senior cleric who serves both on the Guardian Council and as Tehran’s Friday Prayer Leader. These sermons are not just religious—they are political events, often echoing Khamenei’s positions and preparing the public for shifts in state policy.
Why It All Matters
Iran’s leadership structure was built to resist Western influence, suppress internal dissent, and concentrate power in the hands of a religious elite. Elections are real—but filtered. Institutions exist—but are overridden. And influence often comes from behind the curtain.
Understanding this system is key to understanding Iran’s approach to diplomacy, conflict, and survival.
