Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gopher]

[twg]

[W.T.Carl]

Iran humilated Jimmy Carter. Keep in mind the moment Reagan got into office the diplomates were released.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Hmmmm...

The Government of Iran is nominally headed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, the ultimate head of Iran's political establishment is the Supreme Leader, who is a religious figure elected by the Assembly of Experts.

The presidency is largely a figurehead position. First, the president does not have leeway in cabinet appointments[1]. Second, the president does not make military and judicial appointments. Third, the president is not entrusted with the power of presidential pardon. Fourth, he is not the commander-in-chief, albeit, the Supreme Leader can delegate the command of the military to whomever he chooses including the president.

Valiye Faghih or The Jurisprudent Guardian, more commonly known as the Supreme Leader, is the Iranian head of state (as opposed to the head of government, which is the President). The concept of velayat-e-faqih -- the guardianship of the jurisprudent -- was introduced by Ayatollah Khomeini and included in the constitution after the 1979 revolution. According to the constitution, the Supreme Leader co-ordinates and solves disputes between the three branches of state (executive, legistative, and judicial). The constitution gives the Supreme Leader vast powers, including:

Appointing head of Judicial Branch
Supreme command of armed forces
Issuing decrees for national referenda
Declaration of war and peace
Mobilization of the armed forces
Dismissal of the President, after the Supreme Court holds him guilty of the violation of his constitutional duties, or after a vote of the Parliament testifying to his incompetence on the basis of Article 89 of the Constitution

President or Supreme Leader? I know which one I listen to for what the government is up to.

[Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee]

The US needs to develop a new generation of weapons that will dramatically swing the balance of power via Iran back in the US favor.

[bucheon bum]

[Gopher]

We are going a bit overboard in so easily and wholly dismissing the President as a figurehead and complete nonentity, hardly worth even listening to. Not so.

Does decisive political power reside in the so-called Supreme Leader's hands? Apparently. We have long known that a theocratic dictatorship, specifically an Islamic Fundamentalist one, rules Iranian affairs -- foreign and domestic. Does this mean, however, that the President means nothing? or that we must make this either/or choice, as if each office operated independently of one another...?

[wannago]

[Adventurer]

France and the European Union also pushed for the resolution. They are not interested in a nuclear Iran, either. The Iranian people have a right to nuclear power, but there is a question mark whether it will be used for energy purposes or for an offensive capability. We do know that the Iranian people are not embracing the Iranian president's combattive style. We also know that if Syria and Israel engage in peace talks, Iran would be forgotten by Damascus.

[twg]