This study deals with the Iranian presidency from two main angles: the first is related to the theoretical and historical givens that surround the foundation of the office of president and its practices in the regime of the Islamic Republic. The second tries to discuss the experience of the current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This second perspective makes use of analytical and historical methodologies to establish two main hypotheses. The first states that the presidency of the Islamic Republic has failed to work and live up to the principle of the sovereignty of the people because it has remained in thrall to the theory of the rule of the jurisprudent (vilayat-i faqih) in politics, whose practical application gives sweeping powers to the Supreme Guide of the Revolution Ali Khamenei and the bodies around him, including the Revolutionary Guard. The second hypothesis is the failure of the Ahmadinejad presidency, given the irregularities in how he was elected and his practices which have been marred by turmoil in discourse and in action. The study also sheds light on the clashes with social and political figures and an inability to keep promises made to voters.