Continuing Constitutional Crisis and Revision

Abstract

The macro-management difficulties stemming from the incompatibility between the powerful and intransigent Guardian Council, and the more typical institutions of the modern state, persisted and led the Iranian ruling elite to come up with yet another political innovation. In an official letter dated February 3, 1988, the three heads of the three branches of the government together with Ahmad Khomeini and the prime minister asked Ayatollah Khomeini to hasten his forthcoming decision to appoint an authoritative institution that would “utter the state ordinances” in cases where disagreement between the Guardian Council and parliament could not be resolved. This would take place upon “the determination of the interest of the system [state] and society.”¹ In his reply on February 6, 1988, Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the formation of a Council for the Assessment of the State’s Interests/Expediency or majma-e tashkhis-e maslahat-e nezam.² This was another clear example of routinization of charisma as discussed by Weber.