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Allies of Iran's President Heading for a Majority in Parliament
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Analysts said they did not expect the country's foreign policy to change dramatically. Khamenei recently lauded the government's defiance in negotiations with the West on Iran's nuclear program. The new legislators are expected to follow his lead.
Several high-profile candidates, including Ali Larijani, the former head of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, won seats. Larijani, who was replaced in October by a close ally of Ahmadinejad, might use his new platform to challenge some of the president's policies.
A newcomer, Morteza Agha Tehrani, is expected to rally the president's supporters in parliament.
Pressure on political opponents will increase, according to Mehrdad Serjooie, an analyst and former parliament reporter. "Supporters of Khatami and Ayatollah Ali Akbar Rafsanjani will have more difficulties," Serjooie said.
Assistants of Rafsanjani, a cleric, former president and one of Iran's main revolutionary figures, have been arrested in the past and charged with espionage. Politicians belonging to his group did not participate in the elections.
Khatami's group entered the race, but many of his supporters were disqualified, as in the 2004 parliamentary elections.
Ahmadinejad's supporters have criticized Rafsanjani and Khatami for not delivering the promises of the 1979 revolution to Iran's poor. Both were forced into a role opposing the politicians now dominating the government and parliament.
