NPR

The Key Players In The Iran Protests

A primer on the multiple factions, and what they have at stake, in the demonstrations in Iran.

Iran's protests feature demonstrators upset with the country's lackluster economy and nearly four decades of rule by hard-line Islamic clerics.

Those are the basics, but there is much more behind this latest round of unrest.

Iran is a complicated place, marked by multiple factions all trying to pull the country in different directions.

There is one supreme cleric in charge. But there is also an elected president and robust political debate. While not a democracy, neither is Iran a dictatorship.

In addition, most foreign journalists are barred from the country and the Iran government has shut down some social media

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