The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national

legislative body A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The Parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an increase from the previous 272 seats since the 18 February 2000 election. The most recent election took place on 21 February 2020 and the new parliament convened on 28 May 2020.

History

Islamic Republic of Iran

After the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

of 1979, the Senate of Iran was abolished and was effectively replaced by the

Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

thus the Iranian legislature remained

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

. In the 1989 revision of the constitution, the ''National Consultative Assembly'' became the ''Islamic Consultative Assembly''. The Parliament of Iran has had six chairmen since the

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...

was the first chairman, from 1980 to 1989. Then came

Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi ( fa, مهدی کروبی, Mehdi Karrubi, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and Iranian reform movement, reformist politician leading the National Trust Party (Iran), National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iran ...

(1989–1992),

Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri ( fa, علی‌اکبر ناطق‌نوری; sometimes spelt Nategh-Nouri, born 6 October 1944) is an Iranian politician, who served as the Chairman of the Parliament of Iran from 1992 to 2000. He was also the Minister of ...

(1992–2000),

(2000–2004),

Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel ( fa, غلامعلی حداد عادل, born 9 May 1945) is an Iranian philosopher, conservative and principlist politician and former chairman of the Parliament. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Counci ...

(2004–2008),

Ali Larijani Ali Ardeshir Larijani ( fa, علی لاریجانی, ; born 3 June 1957) is an Iranian conservative politician, philosopher and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran ...

(2008–2020) and

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf or Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf ( fa, محمد باقر قالیباف, born 23 August 1961) is an Iranian conservative politician, former military officer, and current Speaker of the Parliament of Iran since 2020. He held off ...

since 2020. Over its history the Parliament is said to have evolved from being "a debating chamber for notables," to "a club for the shah's

placemen In the political history of Britain, placemen were Members of Parliament who held paid office in the civil service, generally sinecures, simultaneously with their seat in the legislature. William and Mary Placemen exerted substantial influence ...

" during the Pahlavi era, to a body dominated by members of "the propertied middle class" under the Islamic Republic.

2017 attack

On 7 June 2017, there were

shootings Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...

at the Iranian parliament and at the

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

of Ayatollah

Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

. Gunmen opened fire at the Iranian Parliament and the mausoleum of religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran. The attack on the mausoleum reportedly left 17 persons dead and more than 30 people injured. The parliament was attacked by four gunmen which left seven to eight people injured. Both attacks took place around the same time and appear to have been coordinated.

Functions

The Islamic Consultative Assembly can legislate laws on all issues within the limits of the Constitution. The Assembly cannot, for instance, enact laws contrary to the canons and principles of the official religion of the country (Islam) or to the Constitution. Government bills are presented to the Islamic Consultative Assembly after receiving the approval of the Council of Ministers. The Islamic Consultative Assembly has the right to investigate and examine all the affairs of the country. International treaties, protocols, contracts, and agreements must be approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Receiving and issuing national or international loans or grants by the government must be ratified by the Islamic Consultative Assembly. The President must obtain, for the Council of Ministers, after being formed and before all other business, a vote of confidence from the Assembly. Whenever at least one-fourth of the total members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly pose a question to the President, or any one member of the Assembly poses a question to a minister on a subject relating to their duties, the President or the minister is obliged to attend the Assembly and answer the question. All legislation passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly must be sent to the

. The Guardian Council must review it within a maximum of ten days from its receipt with a view to ensuring its compatibility with the criteria of Islam and the Constitution. If it finds the legislation incompatible, it will return it to the Assembly for review. Otherwise the legislation will be deemed enforceable.

Membership

Iran parliament composition by province en

Currently, there are 290 members of Parliament, five of whom represent non-Muslim religious minorities (1.7%), and are popularly elected for four-year terms. About 8% of the Parliament are women, while the global average is 13%. The Parliament can force the dismissal of cabinet ministers through no-confidence votes and can impeach the president for misconduct in office. Although the executive proposes most new laws, individual deputies of the Parliament also may introduce legislation. Deputies also may propose amendments to bills being debated. The Parliament also drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the national budget. All People's House of

candidates and all legislation from the assembly must be approved by the

. Candidates must pledge in writing that they are committed, in theory and in practice, to the

Iranian constitution The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...

Constituencies

The Parliament currently has 207 constituencies, including a total of 5

reserved seats Several politico-constitutional arrangements use reserved political positions, especially when endeavoring to ensure the rights of women, minorities or other segments of society, or preserving a political balance of power. These arrangements can ...

for the religious minorities recognized by the constitution. The rest of 202 constituencies are territorial and coincide with 1 or more of Iran's 368 '' Shahrestans''. The largest electoral districts are: *

Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat, Eslamshahr and Pardis Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat, Eslamshahr and Pardis ( fa, تهران، ری، شمیرانات، اسلامشهر و پردیس) is a constituency for the Parliament of Iran encompassing the metropolitan area of Tehran and some of its satellite cities ...

(30 seats) * Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr (6 seats) * Mashhad and Kalat (5 seats) *

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

(5 seats) *

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

(4 seats) * Ahvaz, Bavi, Hamidieh and Karoun (3 seats) * Ardabil, Nir, Namin and Sareyn (3 seats) *

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

(3 seats) * Qom (3 seats) *

Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...

(3 seats)

Leadership

Members of Parliament elect their speaker and deputy speakers during the first session of Parliament for a one-year term. Every year, almost always in May, elections for new speakers are held in which incumbents may be re-elected. The current Speaker of Parliament is

, with First Deputy Speaker

Ali Nikzad Ali Nikzad ( fa, علی نیکزاد; born 1961) is an Iranian conservative politician and academic and a former cabinet minister. Early life and education Nikzad was born in 1961. He holds a bachelor's degree in urban development from the Uni ...

and Second Deputy Speaker

Abdolreza Mesri Abdolreza Mesri (born 1956 in Kermanshah) is an Iranian politician. He was elected for the second time as one of Kermanshah's representatives in the ninth Islamic Consultative Assembly on 2 March 2012. Before being elected as an MP, he was servi ...

Commissions

; Privileged commissions ; Expert commissions

Current composition

The last elections of Parliament of Iran were held on 26 March 2016 with a second round will be held in April in those 71 districts where no candidate received 25% or more of the votes cast. More than 12,000 candidates registered but leaving about 6,200 candidates to run for the 290 seats representing the 31 provinces. The results indicate that the results would make a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...

with reformists having a plurality.

Building

After 1979, the Parliament convened at the building that used to house the Senate of Iran. A new building for the Assembly was constructed at

Baharestan Square Baharestan ( fa, بهارستان ) is a locality east of the central part of Tehran in Iran. The historical Baharestan building is located in this neighborhood. Kendriya Vidyalaya Tehran, the Embassy of India School, is in Baharestan.

in central Tehran, near the old Iranian Parliament building that had been used from 1906 to 1979. After several debates, the move was finally approved in 2004. The first session of the Parliament in the new building was held on 16 November 2004. The old building is depicted on the

reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

of the Iranian 100

rial Rial, riyal, or RIAL may refer to: * Rial (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name) * Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning, McGill University * Rial Racing, a former German Formula One team Various currencies named rial ...

banknote.Central Bank of Iran
Banknotes & Coins
100 Rials
– Retrieved on 24 March 2009. File:Parliamenttehran.jpg, The

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

building
(1906–1979) File:Kingdom of Iran 10000 Rials Banknote 1978 - Second Pahlavi King (reverse).png, First building on the reverse of a 1970s 10000 Rial banknote File:Palais du Senat iranien (1970).jpg, The

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

building
(1980–2004) File:صد ریال - سری ششم جمهوری (پشت).jpg, Second building on the reverse of the 100 Rial banknote (1985-2005) File:نمای جبهه غربی مجلس.jpg, The third building
(2004–present)

References

''This article incorporates text from the Constitution of Iran, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

.''

External links

The official website of the Majlis of Iran

Laws and minutes of meetings of the Majlis of Iran (1906-1979) (persian)History of Iran: Constitutional Revolution
a history of Majlis from 1906 to 1953

* ttp://isna.ir/news/NewsCont.asp?Lang=P&id=456190 A report on moving the Majles to Baharestanbr>The Council of Guardians
Official website.
The Majles
Iran's parliament news service.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110722060112/http://www.sssup.it/context_eng.jsp?ID_LINK=7930&area=47 Iran Electoral Archive - Iranian Parliament;Videos
''Video Archive of Iran's Parliament''
* Kourosh Esmāili, ''People & Power: The Iranian Campaign'', Aljazeera, YouTube, April 2008
Part 1Part 2
{{Coord, 35, 41, 30.28, N, 51, 26, 04, E, display=title Legislature of Iran

1979 establishments in Iran

Buildings and structures in Tehran