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** Special Edition
March 1, 2026
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Who Will Succeed Ali Khamenei in Iran?
By Arman Mahmoudian
Research Fellow, USF Global and National Security Institute
Adjunct Professor, Judy Gensaft Honors College, University of South Florida

Ali Khamenei has dominated Iran’s clerical system for nearly four decades and sidelined all potential rivals—meaning there is no obvious choice for his successor. Read the full article here ([link removed]) .
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Two Redlines for a Post-Islamic Republic Iran
By Charbel Antoun
Journalist

With the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the temptation is strong to redraw Iran’s borders or install a friendly despot. The US should resist it. Read the full article here ([link removed]) .
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Why the US Keeps Misreading Iran’s Place on the Map
By Tanya Goudsouzian, and Ibrahim al-Marashi
Goudsouzian: Journalist
Marashi, Associate Professor of Middle East History, California State University

As long as Washington sees Iran at the edge of the Middle East rather than the center of “West Asia,” it will continue to fall prey to miscalculations. Read the full article here ([link removed]) .
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Don’t Hold Your Breath on Iranian Democracy
By Alex Madajian
Contributing Fellow, Defense Priorities

Iran’s ethnic composition and political divisions suggest that a post-Islamic Republic environment would not be hospitable to liberal democracy. Read the full article here ([link removed]) .
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Can Iran’s Monarchy Be Restored?
By Masoud Zamani
Lecturer in International Law and International Relations, University of British Columbia.

Reza Pahlavi’s popularity and Iran’s mounting discontent raise the possibility of restoring a constitutional monarchy, a secular, democratic alternative increasingly viewed as a stable path forward after the Islamic Republic. Read the full article here ([link removed]) .
Click here to read more thoughtful news and analysis in The National Interest. ([link removed])

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