Rural development in Iran, despite increased access to certain infrastructural and welfare services, continues to contend with poverty, unemployment, migration, and the weakening of the productive role of villages, reflecting the inefficiency of dominant planning and rural development management models. Analysis indicates that many observed problems are superficial manifestations, with the root cause of the crisis lying in "management issues" and the marginalized position of rural society within the governance and policymaking structure—such that villagers feel like second-class citizens and their genuine participation in determining priorities and implementing programs remains limited. Domestic and international experiences underscore the necessity of an integrated strategic document, institutionalized local community participation, and simultaneous attention to the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of development. Accordingly, top-down approaches, borrowed development prescriptions, and inattention to spatial and cultural diversities are identified as primary factors contributing to policy failure. The proposed strategy emphasizes formulating a sustainable rural development program based on the approach of "good governance" and redefining the state's role from managerial intervention to facilitation and centralized oversight. At the policy level, targeted subsidies favoring rural production, establishing a comprehensive rural social security system, increasing the authority of local institutions and rural municipalities (dehyaris), reforming cropping patterns and water resource management, preventing land-use changes, developing modern occupations, and strengthening local entrepreneurship are proposed as executive axes.