Like the title says, is it possible for the Safavids to survive into modern-day and continued to rule Iran/Persia? If so, can they reclaim its Great Power status as much as their past?
How can they accomplish it?
And how much land you all reckoned the Safavids can hold outside of Iran? Personally, realistically-speaking, I think they can hold Turkmenistan, parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Then again, there's some religious issues in it but it depends on the modern Safavid leadership. Besides, the mentioned countries were once part of the previous Persian Empires and dynasties.
I know it’s pretty difficult since the Safavids is caught in rock and hard places between the Ottomans, Russia, Central Asian Khan and other European powers. Not to mention, the conservative elements of Iranian society like the Shia clerics for example.
I digress, well, I’d like to know your take or ideas on how to make the Safavid-ruled Iran survived as a modern (and if possible, industrialised) country on par with nations of Western Europe.