An Ideal Model for Relationship between Intelligence and People in the Islamic Republic of Iran

A general belief among people is that intelligence agencies are responsible for ensuring the security of the society, and if they do not succeed, they will not fulfill their mission. From the perspective of intelligence agencies, this view, while being correct, can constitute a part of reality. Prevalent belief in the intelligence agencies is that because the Islamic Republic of Iran is a system based on the support of people, ensuring security would not be possible without the participation of people, and they must play an active role in achieving sustainable security. In government's view (as stipulated in various laws), both people and intelligence agencies have a special role in providing security, the latter in a direct and institutional form, and the former, in an indirect and non-institutional form. Relationship between intelligence and people has always been fluctuating over the last forty years. The main question of this article is: "What is the ideal model of the relationship between intelligence and people in the Islamic Republic of Iran?" To respond this question, the authors use interviews, library and documentary research to collect data and, given the quality of data, they use analyses based on Ijtihad to process the data, and to discover and deduce the facts. The results of the research show that the reduction of the relationship between intelligence and people to the security issue is a reductionist approach depriving the system of the benefits of people's capacities. By analyzing the gap between the status quo and the desired situation and deduction from the statements, the components of the relationship between intelligence and people have been extracted and finally, an ideal model for relationship between intelligence and people has been presented with a focus on intelligence justice.