Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, ordered an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with writing the constitution.

[citation needed] The assembly presented the constitution on October 24, 1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan approved it.

[citation needed] The election on June 12, 2009 was reported by government authorities as a victory for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent candidate, although this is greatly disputed by supporters of rival candidates, who noted the statistical anomalies in voting reports and large-scale overvoting in the officially announced tallies.

[6] Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani were each elected president for two terms.

[5] Taghi Rahmani, the husband of detained activist and Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, said Raisi's death would not structurally change the Iranian leadership under Khamenei.

[citation needed] Chapter IX of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran sets forth the qualifications for presidential candidates.

[13] The president functions as the executive of the decrees and wishes of the supreme leader, including: signing treaties with foreign countries and international organizations; and administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs.

[25] The current supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ruling Iran for more than three decades, has issued decrees and made final decisions on economy, education, environment, foreign policy, national planning, and almost everything else in the country.

[25][14][15][16][17][18][19] Khamenei has also made final decisions on the degree of transparency in elections in Iran,[13] and has fired and reinstated presidential cabinet appointments.

[27] Candidates for the presidency must be approved by the Council of Guardians, which is a twelve-member body consisting of six clerics selected directly by Iran's supreme leader (who may also dismiss them and replace them at any time), and six lawyers proposed by the supreme leader–appointed head of Iran's judicial system and subsequently approved by the Majles.

[citation needed] Some Western observers have routinely criticized the approvals process as a way for the council and supreme leader to ensure that only conservative and like-minded Islamic fundamentalists can win office.

[citation needed] The legality of women running for presidency depends upon the meaning of one of the criteria the candidate is required to fill.