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The President of Iran, the executive branch below the ayatollah, and the parliament, the legislative branch, is elected every fourth year. However, all the candidates must be approved by a council (who is appointed by the Supreme Leader), and is, thereby, not democratic. All the legislation the parliament makes must also be approved by that council.

Iran. (2021, February 15). FN-Sambandet. https://www.fn.no/Land/iran

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Other countries respect Iran's borders and do not interfere with their internal sovereignty, though many states/countries condemn their human rights violations.

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While the international legitimacy of Iran is limited, the government do achieve legitimacy among the Iranian population through, for instance, charismatic legitimacy. The charisma comes from the highest authority being the ayatollah who has such a high status in Shia Islam that they can independently evaluate the holy texts, which means they are highly valued by Shia Muslims. This could also be an example of traditional legitimacy, as the tradition of the ayatollah has been present since the 14th century.
Nevertheless, the key word is perhaps "some", because, as mentioned in "Human Rights", there is a large division in the country where some do not view this form of government legitimate or, at least, wish to liberalise it, and the conservatives wish to preserve it.

Vogt, K. (2020, November 4). ayatolla. Store Norske Leksikon. https://snl.no/ayatolla
Iran. (2021, February 15). FN-Sambandet. https://www.fn.no/Land/iran

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Iran is a republic with elements of a presidential system, however, the democracy within that system is extremely limited (look to "Democracy Index" and "Human Rights"). Thus, Iran do not have the legitimacy of being a democratic state. Their human rights violations also diminish their legitimacy, as states who adhere to international law are more legitimate. This limit their international legitimacy greatly.

Vogt, K. (2020, November 4). ayatolla. Store Norske Leksikon. https://snl.no/ayatolla
Iran. (2021, February 15). FN-Sambandet. https://www.fn.no/Land/iran

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An Islamic theocratic Republic

Iran. (2021, February 15). FN-Sambandet. https://www.fn.no/Land/iran

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Iran is listed as number 154 in the democracy index. Their regime type is defined as authoritarian.

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The Supreme Leader (also called the Leader of the Revolution) is the ayatollah, which is the religious leader of Iran and the highest authority of the country. They remain the leader for the entirety of their lives. The ayatollah is an autocrat and directly control the judicial system, media, police, and the military.

The Supreme Leader has been Ali Hoseini-Khamenei since 4 June 1989.

Iran. (2021, February 15). FN-Sambandet. https://www.fn.no/Land/iran

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According to international reports, Iran's human rights records have been exceptionally poor. Women's rights are described as seriously inadequate, the amount of child offenders being executed in Iran is higher than in any other country, and gay rights have been heavily violated - sexual relationships between two people of the same sex is illegal and punishable by up to death.
Anti-government protests have broken out (such as in 2019-2020) but police have suppressed these mass protests violently, killing thousands of people in the process.
Recent violations:
- The moral police killed Mahsa Amini for not wearing her hijab correctly, which has sparked many protests where women have taken off their hijabs and burned them.
- Two LGBTQ+ activists are sentenced to death.

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The state as we know as Iran came into existence after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which toppled the monarchy and installed the current theocratic republic. The government (or the Supreme Leader) has the ability to govern independently within the Iranian borders.
They are members of the United Nations, the ICJ, IMF, and the WHO amongst others.
Iran. (2021, February 15). Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.fn.no/Land/iran