Balance of Power

Iran’s Hardliners Won’t Easily Be Dislodged

The Islamic Republic faces a choice between continuity or a more moderate figure prepared to compromise.
Smoke rises from an area targeted in attacks in Tehran on March 1.Photographer: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images

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Even as missiles and drones fly across the Middle East, the future of Iran’s autocratic Islamic Republic is about to be decided by an election.