It is widely assumed that the 2009 massive protests in Iran called for more democracy and respect of human rights against Ahmaedinejad’s government and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. On that occasion, the rhetoric of democracy and human rights seemed to be a powerful tool against the regime. Yet a closer investigation reveals that the regime itself has adopted the ‘rhetorical tools’ of democracy and human rights, be this move either a mere tactics or a sincere belief (Schwedler 2011). Within the literature concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran, the ‘democratic turn’ in the rhetoric of Iranian reformist groups and parties has been analysed extensively (Ansari, 2006; Khosrokhavar, 2000; Bayat, 2007), yet the same has not been applied to specific institutions of the regime, despite the fact that broad trends towards the employment of the same language have been detected (Osanloo 2009; Mahdavi 2011). In particular, ‘democracy’ has become a necessary reference within the political discourse: in order to be ‘legitimate’ and ‘authentic,’ political actors feel the need to refer to and engage with ideas and practices associated with the concept of ‘democracy’ (Holliday forthcoming 2012). This paper aims at examining the adherence of the regime itself to the rhetoric of democracy and human rights. In particular, the work of the Iranian Islamic Human Rights Commission, an institution founded by the regime in 1995, will be followed and analysed. Going beyond the debate on the compatibility between Islam and democracy, or the dilemma of moderation, this contribution wants to shed light on (1) the process of the translation of the notions of ‘human rights respect’ and ‘democratic government’ within the ideological system of the Islamic Republic and (2) on the space and ‘red lines’ associated to the adherence to human rights and democracy, thus analysing the interactions with other political and social actors as well. This investigation will be carried out through interviews to the members of the Islamic Human Rights Commission and the analysis of its documents (also available on the IHRC website).