Introduction:One of the paradoxical issues concerning rural areas in Iran after the Islamic Revolution is that, despite a considerable increase in welfare facilities, the trend of migration to cities has significantly intensified, leading to the depopulation of many villages and challenges in agricultural production. Objective: In this article, by examining various theories of rural development and drawing upon Iranian-Islamic culture, the principles and criteria of progress from the perspective of Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei (leaders of the Islamic Revolution) were explored in order to extract the foundational elements for outlining a localized model of rural development. Methodology: Using the qualitative method of thematic analysis, their views were reviewed and coded, Finding: resulting in the identification of macro-level principles of progress, namely: public potential, faith and religiosity, scientific authority, logic and rationality, social welfare, wealth creation, and social construction. These principles were framed within the triadic model. To ensure the reliability of the coding, the extracted codes were independently reviewed by two researchers, and their consistency was assessed. Moreover, to align the identified principles with the rural implementation context, interviews were conducted with 12 experts active in this field. The outputs of the interviews, after coding and achieving theoretical saturation, were analyzed using MAXQDA software. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that the extracted criteria are compatible with the rural context, and if implemented, they could foster a shift from a top-down approach to one that enhances public participation and reduces rural-to-urban migration.