The Regency Council () of the Imperial State of Iran, was a nine-member body formed on 13 January 1979 by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to carry out his duties after he left Iran amidst the Iranian Revolution and served as the symbol of his continued claim on power.
The council was practically dissolved within days, when its head resigned on 22 January 1979 to meet Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Background 1953 Regency Council On 28 February 1953, it was reported that in a meeting with Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, the Shah had agreed that during his absence in Iran a regency council consisting of Mosaddegh, Gholamreza Pahlavi (Shah's brother) and Hossein Ala' (Minister of Royal Court) should be appointed to act as the regency council.
1979 Regency Council members # Name Latest Office Position in the Council1Jalaleddin TehraniFormer Senator2Mohammad Ali VarastehFormer Minister of Finance3Shapour BakhtiarPrime Minister4Mohammad SajjadiPresident of the Senate5Javad SaeidSpeaker of the Parliament6Gen. Abbas GharabaghiChief of the Joint Staff of the Imperial Iranian Army7Aligholi ArdalanMinister of the Royal Court8Abdollah EntezamFormer Chairman of National Iranian Oil Company9Abdolhossein Ali AbadiFormer Prosecutor-General
Tehrani resigned from the post due to tensions between him and Abbas Gharabaghi. He was replaced by Mohammad Ali Varasteh as the head of the council.
See also Council of the Islamic Revolution References