theocracy · Mesopotamia and Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Origins
Mass protests in 1978 brought down Pahlavi Iran. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile on 1 February 1979, and after a referendum the Islamic Republic was proclaimed on 1 April 1979. A constitution adopted in December 1979 enshrined velayat-e faqih, the guardianship of the Islamic jurist.
Rule and society
Power is shared between a Supreme Leader, an elected president and parliament, and unelected bodies such as the Guardian Council and the Revolutionary Guards. The early years saw the US embassy hostage crisis of 1979 to 1981, purges of leftists and liberals, and the Iran-Iraq War of 1980 to 1988. Ali Khamenei became Supreme Leader in 1989. Reformist periods under Mohammad Khatami alternated with crackdowns, including on the Green Movement of 2009 and the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests of 2022.
To the present
The country's nuclear programme led to sanctions, the 2015 nuclear deal and the US withdrawal from it in 2018, and in 2025 to open war with Israel. Iran's oil economy, regional alliances and internal dissent continue to shape the state.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Islamic Republic of Iran. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/islamic-republic-of-iran
- MLA
- “Islamic Republic of Iran.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/islamic-republic-of-iran. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Islamic Republic of Iran.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/islamic-republic-of-iran.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Islamic Republic of Iran’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/islamic-republic-of-iran (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻