According to the constitution, the Supreme Leader controls the supreme power in Iran. The Assembly of Experts, the Expediency Council and the Guardian Council, as well as the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government, exerts influence on the process of transition of the new supreme leader. The shifts in the relative power and relations of the political factions, which include the traditional conservatives, the new conservatives, the pragmatist conservatives, the pragmatists, and the reformists, determine the future of the institution of the Supreme Leader of Iran.