Structural Developments: The Only Solution to the Misery of the Islamic Republic and Iran

Although Ayatollah Khomeini quickly approved the eclectic constitution of the Islamic Republic, which was clerical and based on Sharia, just months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, 1979, he constantly created institutions to solve illegal issues and problems. The 'Cultural Revolution Headquarters,' which was later renamed the 'Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution,' the Expediency Discernment Council, the Revolutionary Court, which continues its work even after four decades, and most importantly: the meeting of the heads of the three branches after 1981. This meeting included Ali Khamenei (then President), Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly), Mousavi Ardabili (Head of the Judiciary), Mir Hossein Mousavi (Prime Minister), and Ahmad Khomeini (son of Ayatollah Khomeini) representing his father. The main decisions of the country during that time were made in this meeting and communicated to and approved by Ayatollah Khomeini through Ahmad Khomeini. Ayatollah Khomeini was ill, and the country was managed by this council. In 1988, members of the parliament protested in a letter to Ayatollah Khomeini regarding the decisions made by institutions that did not exist in the constitution or in the laws approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly. In response, Ayatollah Khomeini wrote that the wartime conditions necessitated immediate decision-making for issues, but he intended to ensure that all matters would be conducted according to the constitution after the war. Later that year, he issued a decree for the revision of the constitution. Not only did he choose the members of the revision council himself, but he also determined the articles that needed to be added or amended. This practice became one of the principles of the revised constitution. According to Article 177 of the constitution, the determination of constitutional amendments and the issues that need to be amended rests with the Supreme Leader. One of the wonders of the revised constitution was that the condition of the Supreme Leader being a 'religious authority' was removed and changed to 'mujtahid,' but his power became limitless with the transformation of 'guardianship of the jurist' into 'absolute guardianship of the jurist.' Illegal institutions were also added to the constitution. During Ayatollah Khamenei's leadership, it was thought that the Expediency Discernment Council could not only resolve the disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council but also approve the interests of the system. The determination of the general policies of the system, which is one of the powers of the Supreme Leader, became a high-level document of the system after being determined by the Expediency Discernment Council and approved by the leadership. However, this did not resolve issues, and Ayatollah Khamenei followed in the footsteps of his predecessor. Consider a few examples of the institution-building by the new Supreme Leader to solve the problems of the system. a) The High Council for Resolving Disputes and Regulating Relations among the Three Branches: Disagreements arose between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the parliament and judiciary regarding the powers of the executive branch, which hindered progress. The Guardian Council and the Expediency Discernment Council could not resolve these issues either. On July 25, 2011, Ayatollah Khamenei established the 'High Council for Resolving Disputes and Regulating Relations among the Three Branches' under the presidency of Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi. According to the constitution, the Guardian Council is the interpreter of the constitution. Therefore, any disputes regarding the limits of the powers and duties of the branches should be resolved through the interpretation of the Guardian Council, not by forming a new institution for this issue. b) The Supreme Council of Cyberspace: Ayatollah Khamenei, who personally had issues with cyberspace and social networks, established the 'Supreme Council of Cyberspace' on March 7, 2012, to block and counter them. However, the composition of this council did not favor the blockers with the formation of Hassan Rouhani's government, which is why Telegram and other social networks were filtered by judicial order. At the same time, all system leaders and the Supreme Leader himself used and continue to use these filtered networks. c) The High Supervisory Board for the Proper Implementation of the General Policies of the System: During Ayatollah Khamenei's leadership, dozens of general policies of the system in various fields were prepared by the Expediency Discernment Council and approved by him. Ayatollah Khamenei delegated the supervision of the proper implementation of the general policies of the system to the Expediency Discernment Council on April 6, 1998. The method of supervision over the proper implementation of the general policies of the system is determined in the 'Regulations on the Supervision of the Proper Implementation of the General Policies of the System.' These regulations were first approved by Khamenei in 2005 and then again in 2015. According to Article 7 of these regulations, the parliament is obliged to amend any provisions that are declared by the Expediency Discernment Council as 'incompatibility' and 'non-conformity' with the general policies of the system during the legislative process, and 'ultimately, if incompatibility and non-conformity remain in the final resolution of the parliament, the Guardian Council will exercise its authority based on the opinion of the Expediency Discernment Council.' In the new era, as Hashemi Shahroudi is severely ill, the 'High Supervisory Board for the Proper Implementation of the General Policies of the System' of the Expediency Discernment Council has directly intervened and rejected very important and problematic laws for Iran and Iranians - the bills 'Accession of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention)' and 'Amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Law' - which had been approved by the executive and legislative branches, by sending a letter to the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council also considered the law of Iran's accession to these international laws as contrary to Sharia and the constitution and rejected it. This action provoked a severe reaction from parliament representatives - especially Ali Motahari - and many experts. d) The Supreme Council for Economic Coordination of the Three Branches: After the announcement of the Trump administration's exit from the nuclear agreement, which resulted in inflation rising to over 40 percent, the price of the dollar increasing from 3,000 tomans to about 14,000 tomans, economic growth dropping from positive 5 percent to negative 1.5 percent, the unemployment of many workers, the expansion of poverty and misery, etc., Ayatollah Khamenei ordered the heads of the three branches (Hassan Rouhani, Sadegh Larijani, Ali Larijani) to hold regular meetings to make immediate decisions to solve economic issues and implement decisions quickly, and to inform him if any matters required his approval. Khamenei stated on May 22, 2018, during a meeting with system officials regarding this: 'A few weeks ago, we held a meeting about the economic issues of the country; the respected heads of the three branches were present, and active economic officials from the government, parliament, and judiciary were present; a relatively good discussion took place there, and a formal arrangement was decided to be made. Friends must follow these up; now I recommend - the heads of the three branches are present - [if] they follow up on the things that were discussed and decided that night with seriousness, economic issues will definitely progress; we have no doubt.' This indicates an acknowledgment that legal institutions are unable to make decisions, and thus this new council is created. However, even the heads of the three branches have been unable to make decisions due to populist policies. The price of gasoline and other energy sources is one example. Gasoline is almost free and is smuggled in large quantities to neighboring countries, while the wealthy class in the country benefits the most from it. Yet, neither the council nor any of the leaders are able to set the price of gasoline. They all fear that populist slogans will incite the people against them. e) Authorization to the Head of the Judiciary: The Head of the Judiciary requested a governmental decree to deal with economic offenders. Ayatollah Khamenei agreed to his request and wrote on August 11, 2018: 'The proposal is approved. The aim is to ensure that the punishment of economic offenders is carried out quickly and fairly. Please pay attention to the accuracy of the court rulings.' The only consequence of this was the issuance of a few death sentences and long imprisonments. There is no deadlock. Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly stated in recent months that there is no deadlock and that the Islamic Republic is capable of solving all the country's issues and problems. For example, Khamenei said on August 13, 2018: 'The enemy wants to convey that the country is in a deadlock. My statement is this: I say there is no deadlock in the country; in this economic context, there is no deadlock. It is not that there are no solutions; no, the problems of the country, economic problems, are known, and the solutions are also known.' If this claim is true: First: Why are new institutions being constantly created to solve issues and problems that are unconstitutional? If the legal system has no deadlock, why are new institutions being formed to resolve deadlocks? Second: Why, after 40 years since the revolution, have economic crises not been solved? Third: The so-called 'social harms' - for example, the issue of addiction - which Ayatollah Khamenei has cried for hours due to their severity, have not only not improved but have, according to official statistics of the Islamic Republic, worsened. Alcohol consumption has also been named by the leadership of the system as one of the social harms. Let us assume this claim is correct. However, the prohibition of alcohol and heavy Sharia penalties for drinking have caused homemade alcoholic beverages to send hundreds to hospitals and have led to dozens of deaths. Structural transformation is the solution to misery. Millions of people in Iran are in a critical situation. Poverty and misery are dragging them into a quagmire. An undemocratic system is incapable of solving deadlocks and problems. Yes, the constitution can be amended by the decree of the Supreme Leader. However, a) Adding the current illegal institutions to the constitution will not solve any issues. b) Under the current conditions, the revision of the constitution, by the Supreme Leader and those he will appoint, will only strip the remaining republic of the system and add to its clerical nature. The country and the political system need structural transformations. With structural transformations, a solution can be found for the 'misery of the Islamic Republic.' That solution, or structural transformations, is the transition from the 'clerical system of the Islamic Republic' to a 'democratic system committed to freedom, human rights, and justice as non-discrimination.' Iran's foreign policy needs fundamental and structural change. However, the current policy is part of the identity of the Islamic Republic. Thus, without transition, nothing can be done. Special privileges and systemic corruption have become so structured that they seem incurable without transitioning from the Islamic Republic. It is in the interest of the clergy to return to seminaries and engage in archaeology - discovering 'the lifestyle constructed by the Arabs before Islam' or the approved decrees - and to hand over political and economic power to specialists elected by the people. A non-violent transition of Iran to a justice-based republic is solely the result of the empowerment of the people in civil and professional institutions. Without a strong civil society, we will not have democracy and freedom. The views expressed in this note do not necessarily reflect the views of Radio Farda. Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and researcher.