Supreme Leader of Iran in the context of "Iranian principlists"

The monarchs of Iran ruled for over two and a half millennia, beginning as early as the 8th century BC and enduring until the 20th century AD. The earliest Iranian monarch is generally considered to have been either Deioces of the Median dynasty (c. 727–550 BC) or Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty (550–330 BC). The last Iranian monarch was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979), who was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution. Since then, Iran has been governed by theocratic supreme leaders.

In classical antiquity, Iran reached the peak of its power and prestige under the Achaemenid Empire, which stretched from Egypt and parts of Southeast Europe in the west to the Indus Valley and parts of Central Asia in the east. By 323 BC, the Achaemenid Empire's territories had been conquered by the Macedonian Empire during the Wars of Alexander the Great, bringing Iran into the Hellenistic sphere. In the Wars of the Diadochi, the Seleucid Empire (305–129 BC) assumed control of Iran. Native Iranian rule was revived with the establishment and expansion of the Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD) and then the Sasanian Empire (224–651), which existed until the Arab conquest of Iran.

The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Persian: ولایت فقیه, romanized: Velâyat-e Faqih, also Velayat-e Faghih; Arabic: وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, romanized: Wilāyat al-Faqīh) is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the reappearance of the "infallible Imam" (sometime before Judgement Day), the religious and social affairs of the Muslim world should be administered by righteous Shi'i jurists (Faqīh).

Wilāyat al-Faqīh is associated in particular with Ruhollah Khomeini and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a series of lectures in 1970, Khomeini advanced the idea of guardianship in its "absolute" form as rule of the state and society. This version of guardianship now forms the basis of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which calls for a Guardian Jurist (Vali-ye Faqih, Arabic: وَلِيٌ فَقِيهٌ, romanized: Waliyyun Faqīh), to serve as the Supreme Leader of that country. Currently, this role is held by Ayatollah Khamenei.

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the supreme law of Iran. It was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replacing the Constitution of 1906. It has been amended once, on 28 July 1989. The constitution was originally made up of 175 articles in 12 chapters, but amended in 1989 to 177 articles in 14 chapters.

It has been called a hybrid regime of theocratic and democratic elements. Articles One and Two vest sovereignty in God, and Article Six "mandates popular elections for the presidency and the Majlis, or parliament." Main democratic procedures and rights are subordinate to the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader, whose powers are spelled out in Chapter Eight (Articles 107–112).

Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian cleric, politician, political theorist, and revolutionary who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran and served as its first supreme leader from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the main leader of the Iranian Revolution, which overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and transformed Iran into a theocratic Islamic republic.

Born in Khomeyn, in what is now Iran's Markazi province, his father was murdered when Khomeini was two years old. He began studying the Quran and Arabic from a young age assisted by his relatives. Khomeini became a high ranking cleric in Twelver Shi'ism, an ayatollah, a marja' ("source of emulation"), a mujtahid or faqīh (an expert in fiqh), and author of more than 40 books. His opposition to the White Revolution resulted in his state-sponsored expulsion to Bursa in 1964. Nearly a year later, he moved to Najaf, where speeches he gave outlining his religiopolitical theory of Guardianship of the Jurist were compiled into Islamic Government.

The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: رئیس‌جمهور ایران, romanized: Rais Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of Iran and the second highest-ranking official, after the supreme leader. The first election was held in 1980 and was won by Abulhassan Banisadr. Masoud Pezeshkian currently serves as the president of Iran, after being elected in the 2024 Iranian presidential election and being officially endorsed by the supreme leader.