The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also referred to as the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution and officially as the Supreme Leadership Authority, or also called by government institutions Grand Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of Iran above the president. The armed forces, judiciary, state radio and television, and other key government organizations such as the Guardian Council and Expediency Discernment Council are subject to the supreme leader.
According to the constitution, the supreme leader delineates the general policies of the Islamic Republic (article 110), supervising the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive branches (article 57). The second supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, issued decrees and made the final decisions on the economy, the environment, foreign policy, education, national planning, and other aspects of governance in Iran. Khamenei also made the final decisions on the amount of transparency in elections, and during his rule dismissed and reinstated presidential cabinet appointees.
The office was established by the Constitution of Iran in 1979, pursuant to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's concept of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, and is a lifetime appointment. Originally the constitution required the supreme leader to be Marja'-e taqlid, the highest-ranking cleric in the religious laws of Usuli Twelver Shia Islam; however, in 1989 the constitution was amended and simply asked for Islamic "scholarship" to allow the supreme leader to be a lower-ranking cleric.
The style "Supreme Leader" () is commonly used as a sign of respect although the Constitution designates them simply as "Leader" (, ').
According to the constitution (Article 111), the Assembly of Experts is tasked with electing (following Ayatollah Khomeini), supervising, and dismissing the supreme leader. In practice, the Assembly has never been known to challenge or otherwise publicly oversee any of the supreme leader's decisions (all of its meetings and notes are strictly confidential). Members of the Assembly are elected by people in elections, and are approved by bodies (the Guardian Council) whose members are appointed by the supreme leader or appointed by an individual (Chief Justice of Iran) appointed by the supreme leader.
The United Nations list of Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Ministers for Foreign Affairs of all Member States lists the Iranian president as the official de jure head of state and government, rather than the supreme leader himself.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has in its history had three supreme leaders: Khomeini, who held the position from 1979 until his death in 1989; Ali Khamenei, who held the position from Khomeini's death until his assassination in 2026; and Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei, who has held the position since 2026.
Since the 1989 amendments to the Constitution of Iran, any jurist of Islamic law can be elected Supreme Leader.
In March 1979, shortly after Ruhollah Khomeini's return from exile and the overthrow of Iran's monarchy, a national referendum was held throughout Iran with the question "Islamic Republic, yes or no?". Although some groups objected to the wording and choice and boycotted the referendum, 98% of those voting, voted "yes". Following this landslide victory, the constitution of Iran of 1906 was declared invalid. A new constitution for an Islamic state was created and ratified by referendum during the first week of December in 1979.
According to Francis Fukuyama, the 1979 constitution is a "hybrid" of "theocratic and democratic elements" with much of it based on the ideas Khomeini presented in his published book Islamic Government (Hukumat-e Islami). In the work, Khomeini argued that government must be run in accordance with traditional Islamic sharia, and for this to happen a leading Islamic jurist (faqih) must provide political "guardianship" (wilayat or velayat) over the people. The leading jurist were known as Marja'.
The Constitution stresses the importance of the clergy in government, with Article 4 stating that and the importance of the supreme leader. Article 5 states
Article 107 in the constitution mentions Khomeini by name and praises him as the most learned and talented leader for emulation (marja-i taqlid). The responsibilities of the supreme leader are vaguely stated in the constitution, thus any 'violation' by the supreme leader would be dismissed almost immediately. As the rest of the clergy governed affairs on a daily basis, the supreme leader is capable of mandating a new decision as per the concept of Vilayat-e Faqih.
The supreme leader does not receive a salary.
Shortly before Khomeini's death, a change was made in the constitution of Iran allowing a lower ranking Shia cleric to become the supreme leader. Khomeini had a falling out with his would-be successor Hussein-Ali Montazeri, who disapproved of human rights abuses by the Islamic Republic such as the mass execution of political prisoners in late summer and early autumn 1988. Montazeri was demoted as a marja and Khomeini chose a new successor, a relatively low-ranking member of the clergy, Ali Khamenei. However Article 109 stipulated that the leader be "a source of imitation" (Marja-e taqlid).
Khomeini wrote a letter to the president of the Assembly for Revising the Constitution, which was in session at the time, making the necessary arrangements to designate Khamene'i as his successor, and Article 109 was revised accordingly. In this letter, he supposedly "emphasised that he had always been of the opinion that the marja'iyat was not a requirement for the office of leader".
Duties and Powers given to the supreme leader by the Constitution, decrees and other laws are:
The supreme leader of Iran is elected by the Assembly of Experts (), which is also the only government body in charge of choosing and dismissing supreme leaders of Iran.
The supreme leader is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the supervisor of the three branches of the state, the Judiciary, the Legislature, and the Executive.
He oversees, appoints, or inaugurates, and can dismiss the following offices:
Additional information:
Iran's regional policy is directly controlled by the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran's ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Force, which directly reports to the supreme leader.
According to the constitution, all supreme leaders, following Ayatollah Khomeini, are to be elected by the Assembly of Experts, who are elected by Iranian voters to eight-year terms. All candidates for membership at the Assembly of Experts (along with candidates for president and for the Majlis (parliament)) must have their candidacy approved by the Guardian Council. In 2016, 166 candidates were approved by the Guardians, out of 801 who applied to run for the office.
Members of the Guardian Council are half appointed unilaterally by the supreme leader. Half are subject to confirmation by the Majlis, after being appointed by the head of the Iranian judiciary (Chief Justice of Iran), who is himself appointed by the supreme leader of Iran. The Assembly has never questioned the supreme leader. There have been cases where the Guardian Council repealed its ban on particular people, after being directed to do so by Khamenei.
The supreme leader is legally considered "inviolable", with Iranians being routinely punished for questioning or insulting him.
The constitution of Iran combines concepts of both democracy and theocracy, theocracy in the form of Khomeini's concept of vilayat-e faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), as expressed in the Islamic Republic. According to Ayatollah Khomeini, the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist was not restricted to orphans or mental incompetents, but applied to everyone in absence of the twelfth Imam.
Jurists were the only rightful political/governmental leaders because "God had commanded Islamic government" and "no one knew religion better than the ulama" (Islamic clergy). They alone would preserve "Islamic order" and keep everyone from deviating from "the just path of Islam".
Prior to the revolution, observant Shia Muslims selected their own leading faqih to emulate (known as a Marja'-i taqlid) according to their own decision making. The "congregation rather than the hierarchy decided how prominent the ayatollah was" thus allowing the public to possibly limit the influence of the Faqih.
After the revolution Shia Muslims, or at least Iranian Shia, were commanded to show allegiance to the current vali-e faghih, Guardian Jurist or supreme leader. In this new system, the jurist oversaw all governmental affairs. The complete control exercised by the Faqih was not to be limited to the Iranian Revolution because the revolution and its Leader had international aspirations. As the constitution of the Islamic Republic states, it
According to author Seyyed Vali Nasr, Khomeini appealed to the masses, during the pre-1979 period, by referring to them as the oppressed and with charisma and political ability was tremendously successful. He became a very popular role model for Shiites, and hoped for the Iranian Revolution to be the first step to a much larger Islamic revolution, transcending Shia Islam, in the same way that Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky had wanted their revolution to be a world revolution, not just a Russian one.
The role of the Iranian Deputy Supreme Leader was eventually incorporated into the Authority of the Supreme Leader.
During the presidency of Hassan Rouhani and amid longstanding rumors of Khamenei's declining health, it was recommended to Khamenei to reestablish the office of Deputy Supreme Leader to better facilitate the transition to new leadership.
After the Assassination of Ali Khamenei, following Article 111 of the Islamic Republic constitution, a Provisional Leadership Council took over Khamenei's role, pending election of a new supreme leader. The Interim Leadership Council, as established on 1 March 2026, consisted of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i and Alireza Arafi of the Guardian Council.