Word: council
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...time being, the Council is the government...
Originally this was not so. First established by Khomeini as a five-member body in November 1978, the Council was supposed to be a "revolutionary parliament" to prepare for an orderly transfer of power from the Shah's regime to a new revolutionary government...
From the first days of Bazargan's "civilian" rule last February, however, the Council acted more as a rival government, frequently countermanding government directives and intervening in day-to-day administration. The Council directs the revolutionary tribunals that have already put to death by firing squad more than 630 of the Shah's supporters and others. It also controls the Islamic militias and the Islamic Guard, a sort of praetorian security unit for the mullahs...
Before Nov. 6, when the Council assumed full executive authority, members kept their identity secret...
Since the takeover of the U.S. embassy, however, four Council members besides Rafsanjani and Mohammed Javad Bahonar have emerged as the most influential leaders of Iran under Khomeini's supreme authority...