Iran's clerical rulers are eager to crush mass anti-government protests, but maneuvering over the eventual succession to the supreme leader and rifts over security tactics have complicated efforts to curb the unrest, three analysts and an official said.
The ever bolder protests, sparked by the death of a woman in police custody, have put Iran's leaders on the defensive, with officials apparently unable to close ranks behind an agreed response to the turmoil, the analysts and the official said.
