Human rights in Iran
Iran's president President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other government officials have compared Iran's human rights record favorably to other countries, particularly countries that have criticized Iran's record. In a 2008 speech, he replied to a question about human rights by stating that Iran has fewer prisoners than America and that "the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared ... with some European countries and the United States."
History of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was Iran's supreme leader until his death in 1989. He was followed by Ali Khamenei.