Publication

This report addresses problems faced by the Iranian leadership and illustrates how President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's domestic and foreign policies brought reformists and center-right conservatives together, posing a direct threat to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The report argues that Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have different assessments of the risks that the Iranian regime has to take in pursuit of its nuclear program and regional strategies. The author explains that this issue is closely intertwined with leadership and factional politics in Iran.