State has had two characteristics of being rentier and idealistic in the contemporary Iran. The income of selling crude oil entered Iran's government budget since the year 1912. But owing to the increasing oil production and the rising of international cost of this product in 1960, the share of oil revenue in the total government's revenues decreased so that Iran was known as a rentier state .A rentier state is defined to earn its main income from foreign rent. Since this kind of state depends on rent revenue instead of usual incomes such as tax, it has an independent behavior of its society and is less democratic.

Modern state has had idealistic approach in Iran since 1950.The idealistic state is defined to do certain minimal duties of a modern state being: dispute solving, establishing security, social organizing and providing economical welfare, as well as other missions. Iranian government during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had the aim of reaching the great civilization. However, after the revolution in 1979 the prophetic mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran government has been to establish a typical Islamic society.

There have been idealistic approaches in Iranian political thought constantly, but in the returning and developing period of modern state it has coincided with the formation of rentier state. Iranian state has had two characteristics of being rentier and idealistic from 1960 till the 2000. Whenever the oil revenue decreased during this period, and the government lost its rentier characteristic, its idealistic characteristic weakened too. This shows that the oil revenue and rentier characteristic of the state has resulted to maintenance and development of its idealistic characteristic in the contemporary Iran and whenever these revenue decreases, the idealistic aspect also lessens.