Politics: An Islamic Republic was declared in 1979 after the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Supreme Leader (Rahbar) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits at the top of the velayat-e faqih (guardianship or governance of the Islamic jurist) system, his power (in theory) checked by an elected president and parliament; conflicts between theocracy and democracy dictate much of the internal dynamic.
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