The constitutional revolution restricted the absolute power of the Qajar monarchs, the English-Language `Iran News' wrote, adding that it was "an unmistakable sign of Iran's rich cultural and political history and its level of development."

"Our country was the first in the entire Middle East and Persian Gulf region to bravely tread on the path toward democracy. For instance, back in 1906, Turkey was part of the Ottoman Empire and an autocratic dictatorship," it said.

The constitutional movement, which was the first revolution in Iran, weakened the whole concept of absolute rule in the country, it further said, adding that even though the constitutional government in the country is greatly indebted to the foreign-educated Iranian intellectuals and elite, the common people also wholeheartedly supported the monumental political and social development in the country's contemporary history.

The constitutional revolution led to the country's first constitution, it went on to say.

"The 1906 constitution derived its legitimacy from the people and placed a great deal of importance on the rights of the Iranian nation and emphasized the idea that serving the people is foremost duty of those in charge of the government," it stressed.

Unfortunately, Iran turne to authoritarianism during the rule of the Pahlavi monarchs, the editorial continued.

The anniversary of the constitutional revolution teaches us all an important lesson: that the Iranian people are inherently against authoritarianism and dictatorship and have always desperately sought freedom and democracy.

"A final and interesting note about Iran's constitutional movement is that the 1906 constitutional revolution cost so little as far as human lives are concerned," Iran News said.

"The people did not take revenge on their kings; they stripped the kings of their absolute power," it concluded.