Iran Government

What is the capital of Iran?

Country Name Iran
Full Country Name Islamic Republic of Iran
Local - Long Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
Local - Short Iran
Former Name Persia
Etymology- history of name name derives from the Avestan term "aryanam" meaning "Land of the Noble [Ones]"
Government Type theocratic republic
Capital Name Tehran
Capital - geographic coordinate 35 42 N, 51 25 E
Capital Time Difference UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC)
Daylight Savings Time does not observe daylight savings time
Independence 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed); notable earlier dates: ca. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid (Persian) Empire established); A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid Dynasty); 1794 (beginning of Qajar Dynasty); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI Dynasty)
National Holiday Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
Constitution history: previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979

amendments: proposed by the supreme leader – after consultation with the Exigency Council – and submitted as an edict to the "Council for Revision of the Constitution," a body consisting of various executive, legislative, judicial, and academic leaders and members; passage requires absolute majority vote in a referendum and approval of the supreme leader; articles including Iran’s political system, its religious basis, and its form of government cannot be amended; amended 1989

Iran Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Iran Government and Politics

Who is the president of Iran?

Executive Branch: chief of state: Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)

head of government: President Ebrahim RAISI (since 18 June 2021); First Vice President Mohammad MOKHBER (since 8 August 2021)

cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over appointments to several ministries

elections/appointments: supreme leader appointed for life by Assembly of Experts; president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term and an additional nonconsecutive term); election last held on 18 June 2021 (next to be held in June 2025)

election results:

2021: Ebrahim RAISI elected president; percent of vote - Ebrahim RAISI (independent) 72.4%, Mohsen REZAI (RFII) 13.8%, Abbdolnaser HEMATI (ECP) 9.8%, Amir-Hosein Qazizadeh-HASHEMI (Islamic Law Party) 4%

2017: Hasan Fereidun RUHANI reelected president; percent of vote - Hasan Fereidun RUHANI (Moderation and Development Party) 58.8%, Ebrahim RAISI (Combat Clergy Association) 39.4%, Mostafa Mir-SALIM Islamic Coalition Party) 1.2%, Mostafa HASHEMI-TABA (Executives of Construction Party) 0.5%
Citizenship Criteria: citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Iran

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Legal System: religious legal system based on secular and Islamic law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch: description: unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami or Majles (290 seats; 285 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by multiple non-transferable vote in 2 rounds, 1 seat each for Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, Armenians in the north of the country and Armenians in the south; members serve 4-year terms); note - all candidates to the Majles must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a 12-member group of which 6 are appointed by the supreme leader and 6 are jurists nominated by the judiciary and elected by the Majles

elections: first round held on 1 March 2024 for 245 seats; second round for 45 remaining seats to be held in May (next full Majles election to be held in 2028)

election results: percent of vote by coalition in first round - NA; seats by coalition in first round - conservatives and hardliners 200, other 45; composition - NA
Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and organized into 42 two-bench branches, each with a justice and a judge)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the High Judicial Council (HJC), a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief justice, the prosecutor general, and 3 clergy, in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a single, renewable 5-year term; other judges appointed by the HJC; judge tenure NA

subordinate courts: Penal Courts I and II; Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Courts of Peace; Special Clerical Court (functions outside the judicial system and handles cases involving clerics); military courts
Regions or States: 31 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Alborz, Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Sharqi (East Azerbaijan), Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Jonubi (South Khorasan), Khorasan-e Razavi (Razavi Khorasan), Khorasan-e Shomali (North Khorasan), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan
Political Parties and Leaders: Combatant Clergy Association [Mostafa PURMOHAMMADI] (an active political group)

Executives of Construction Party [Hossein MARASHI]

Front of Islamic Revolutionary Stability [Sadegh MAHSULI, secretary general]

Islamic Coalition Party [Asadollah BADAMCHIAN]

Militant Clerics Society (Majma-e Ruhaniyoun-e Mobarez) or MRM [Mohammad Mousavi KHOEINIHA]

Moderation and Development Party [Hassan RUHANI]

National Trust Party (Hezb-e E'temad-eMelli) or HEM [Elias HAZRATI]

Progress and Justice Society [Mohammad Saeed AHADIAN]

Union of Islamic Iran People's Party (Hezb-e Ettehad-e Iran-e Eslami) [Azar MANSURI]
International Law Organization Participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International Organization Participation: BRICS, CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, SAARC (observer), SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic Representation in the US: chief of mission: none; Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Embassy of Pakistan, 1250 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073; email: requests@daftar.org; info@daftarwashington.com; website: https://daftar.org/
Diplomatic Representation from US: embassy: none; the US Interests Section is located in the Embassy of Switzerland; US Foreign Interests Section, Embassy of Switzerland, Pasdaran, Shahid Mousavi Street (Golestan 5th), Corner of Paydarfard Street, No. 55, Tehran
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