Iran
In this file photo from 2006, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, right, consults withMohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, then mayor of Tehran. Photo: Mehdi Ghasemi/ISNA, via AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Former Tehran mayor Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf has been elected speaker by Iran’s newly formed parliament, adding another pillar of strength to Iran’s hard-liner coalition ahead of the 2021 presidential elections.
The vote further shifts the political balance toward conservatives who oppose President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate by comparison, at a time Iran is engaged in a bitter standoff with arch foe the United States which has reimposed painful economic sanctions.
State television said the 58-year-old received 230 votes out of the 267 cast to secure what is one of the most influential positions in the Islamic republic.
Ghalibaf is a three-time presidential candidate, former police chief who served as Tehran mayor from 2005 to 2017. He is also a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), close to the late General Qasem Soleimani.
Said to be a relative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ghalibaf withdrew from the 2017 presidential race despite being the conservative frontrunner at the request of his peers, supporting current Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi against Rouhani.
Raeesi, a hardliner, has been at loggerheads with Rouhani since taking the helm of Iran’s courts in March 2019. During Iran’s presidential campaigns debates in 2017, Raeesi criticized Rouhani’s signing of the nuclear deal with the United States.
Ghalibaf also fought against Kurdish militant groups in the west of the country in the early days of the Islamic Republic following the revolution in 1979.
The ex-Tehran mayor formed his own “neo-conservative” alliance following his side-lining by conservatives in the last presidential race. Many analysts believe he continues to have ambitions to become Iranian president next term in 2021.
He received the most votes from the capital in February's parliamentary election, which saw the lowest turnout in decades.
The record abstention was partly over the disqualification of many moderate and reformist candidates by the Guardian Council, a watchdog dominated by ultra-conservatives.
An alliance of "principalists" – or conservatives – and ultra-conservatives swept the election in the absence of any challenge from the reformist side.
The parliament, which shapes debate in Iran, had been closed for six weeks until April 7 as part of measures aiming to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Iran has been hit hard by the Middle East's deadliest outbreak. According to the health ministry, the virus has so far killed 7,564 out of 141,591 confirmed infections.
Thursday's vote saw Ghalibaf succeed Ali Larijani, who had held the post since 2008.
The speaker not only directs the parliament's affairs but also has a seat at the High Council of Economic Coordination alongside the president and judiciary chief.
Established in 2018 by the supreme leader's decree, the Council is the highest authority on economic affairs and is meant to combat the impact of United States' sanctions imposed on Iran.
US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear agreement and reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018, mainly targeting the crucial oil and banking sectors.
With additional reporting by AFP.
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