Iran is struggling to contain a virus that has infected scores of officials, shaking the confidence of ordinary Iranians who have been reluctant to follow guidance that could help stem the epidemic.

Already under pressure from U.S. sanctions and bouts of domestic unrest, Iran’s leadership is now buffeted by an illness that has infected as many as two dozen lawmakers, a deputy health minister, a vice president and a member of the council advising the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among others.

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