The story: The leaking of excerpts from an internal interview with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is complicating Iran’s upcoming presidential race. Hardliners are attempting to capitalize on the leak to prevent Zarif from running for office. Meanwhile, the tape may prove to polarize society among pro-diplomacy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) lines—a development that could serve the interests of the Reformists.

The coverage: The leaked audio from parts of a 7-hour interview Zarif gave for a government oral history project has caused an uproar...