International: Iran's Supreme Leader Floats Proposal to Abolish Presidency

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader for life in 1989 by Shiite Muslim clerics, said in a speech last week that, if deemed appropriate, Iran could do without a president.

Under the proposal, Iran would be ruled by Khamenei working in tandem with parliament, which would continue to be directly elected and would appoint one of its members to serve as prime minister.

Such a change could happen in the near or distant future, Khamenei said. The last time Iran's constitution was altered was in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic and its first supreme leader. The position of prime minister was abolished at that time.

For more, see Iran's Supreme Leader Floats Proposal to Abolish Presidency by Thomas Erdbrink, October 25, 2011 at The Washington Post.