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...Stupid question time. Just how much power and authority does President Mohammad Khatami have? Assuming he really wanted to institute reforms could he have done it, or is the office of president a figurehead position?...

In the Islamic Republic of Iran almost all power is vested in their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. He was not elected by a popular vote of the people. The real power of the regime lies with the Khamenei and the other hardliners that control the Judiciary, military, and most other levers of power.

The president in Iran has very limited powers. He has a cabinet with limited powers. The same is true for their "more" popularly elected parliament. Any laws created by the parliament can be overturned by a group of hard line clerics called the Guardian Council. The parliament, can then appeal the issue to another hardline group called the Expediency Council. This council is supposed to mediate the issues, but it is controlled by the same kinds of clerics as the Guardian council, with the former president of Iran,Rafsanjani, on the council. In other words, Khatami can try to pass all the legislation he wants, but he is can be stopped at every step.

The people of Iran voted overwhelmingly for Muslim cleric Khatami with the hopes that he would use his popular mandate to force the hardliners to compromise. He has made statements threatening resignation if the hardliners don't compromise, but he is still there. Today, the students of Iran as well as the population generally no longer believe he is any different from the rest of the hardline clerics.

As I have said before, in the last election the students asked the people not to participate in the illegitimate elections of an illegitimate regime. As a result only around 12% of the population voted in the last election, and that in a country where voting is mandatory.

So to the masses of Iran, Khatami is now irrelevant.

I hope this helps.

DoctorZin