Politics: Iran was declared an Islamic Republic in 1979, following the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Supreme Leader (Rahbar) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits at the top of the velayat-e faqih system, his power (in theory) checked by an elected president and parliament. The conflict between theocracy and democracy dictates much of the internal dynamic. President Hassan Rouhani’s election in June 2013, following the firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, proved a transitional moment for external relations.
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