Guardian Council

October 16, 2024 | Toby Dershowitz, Saeed Ghasseminejad

Iran Should Stay on the Global Terror Finance and Money Laundering Blacklist

On October 21, the plenary of the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, will convene in Paris. Should the organization that sets global standards for countering money laundering and terror finance...

July 12, 2024 | Mark Dubowitz, Jacob Nagel

2040: The year Iran predicts Israel will be destroyed. Now is the time to prepare

The Islamic Republic is developing a comprehensive strategy to bring about Israel’s elimination as a sovereign state.

July 6, 2024 | |

Mass Boycott by Voters Persists as Masoud Pezeshkian Wins Iran Presidential Election

At least 50 percent of Iranian voters boycotted the second round of the Islamic Republic’s presidential election on July 5, which resulted in a victory for Masoud Pezeshkian, touted...

July 3, 2024 | Behnam Ben Taleblu, Janatan Sayeh

Iran’s ‘election’ seeks to consolidate regime control

Iran’s Guardian Council, a 12-person body appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that approves candidates for office, permitted six out of 80 potential candidates to run in the special presidential...

July 1, 2024 | |

Iranian Election Registers Lowest Voter Turnout Since 1979

The Iranian presidential election on June 28, which now moves to a runoff vote between two candidates, recorded the lowest voter turnout in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s history....

June 27, 2024 | |

Iran’s Supreme Leader Pushes for ‘Maximum’ Turnout in Presidential Election Amid Voter Disillusionment

On the eve of Iran’s June 28 presidential election, the Islamic Republic’s leaders have bolstered efforts to drive voters to the polls. Yet the clerical regime faces widespread...

June 25, 2024 | |

Biden Administration Allows Iran to Run Absentee Voter Stations on U.S. Soil

The Biden administration is permitting Iran to set up absentee voter sites for its upcoming presidential election on U.S. soil, Voice of America (VOA) reported on June 22. Iranian...

June 24, 2024 | Saeed Ghasseminejad |

Why Does Iran Hold So Many Elections?

Constant—and highly stage-managed—elections are a useful tool for Iran's theocratic leadership to remain in power.

June 22, 2024 | Behnam Ben Taleblu, Janatan Sayeh

Iran’s Presidential ‘Election’ Seeks to Consolidate Regime’s Control

Iran’s Guardian Council, a 12-person body appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that approves candidates for office, has permitted six out of 80 potential candidates to run in the special presidential...

June 3, 2024 | |

Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad Vying to Succeed Raisi

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered as a presidential candidate on June 2. Elections to select a successor to the late Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter...

April 1, 2024 | Saeed Ghasseminejad, Behnam Ben Taleblu

Reading the Tea Leaves on Iran’s Other “Election”

The newly “re-elected” Assembly of Experts will play a large part in determining Iran’s post-Khamenei leadership.

February 29, 2024 | |

Iran to Hold Parliamentary Elections but May Face Low Turnout

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28 called for mass turnout in Iran’s elections on March 1. Yet even government polling indicates that the majority of...

September 3, 2022 | Reuel Marc Gerecht, Ray Takeyh

Waiting for Thermidor: America’s Foreign Policy Towards Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran may be on an accelerated schedule for revolutionary decay, at least if compared to the USSR.

December 8, 2021 | Behnam Ben Taleblu, Andrea Stricker

From ‘Maximum Pressure’ to ‘Minimal Resistance’

The Biden administration has barely responded to Iran’s escalation of its nuclear program.

June 28, 2021 | Bradley Bowman, Behnam Ben Taleblu

Getting Out of Iran’s Way

The election of Ebrahim Raisi shows Iran's lack of interest in peace with the West—and the perils of pulling out of the Middle East altogether.

June 25, 2021 | Reuel Marc Gerecht, Ray Takeyh

In Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s clerics have groomed and promoted their ruthless enforcer

This month, Iran held the most boring — and most consequential — presidential election in its history. Boring because the election was rigged virtually from the start. What made it consequential is...

June 17, 2021 | Tzvi Kahn |

Ali Larijani, Iran’s Rejected Hardliner

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. On May 15, Ali Larijani, the former speaker of Iran’s parliament, registered to run for president. Ten days later, the Guardian Council – an unelected, 12-member...

June 17, 2021 | Tzvi Kahn |

Iran’s Leading Presidential Candidate Has Committed Crimes Against Humanity

Even the prison guards were horrified. In the summer of 1988, at the behest of Iran’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the regime executed thousands of political dissidents incarcerated...

June 14, 2021 | Saeed Ghasseminejad, Behnam Ben Taleblu

Khamenei is Iran’s most important voter, and he wants more extremism, not less

Elections have consequences, even in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Nobody knows this better than Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the country’s most powerful person and most important “voter.” Through...

June 9, 2021 | Reuel Marc Gerecht |

Why the Coming Iranian Elections Will Challenge the Biden Administration

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei seems inclined to promote a candidate who will quash dissent over someone who could work with the West.