Hardliners are set to tighten control of Iran this week in a parliamentary elect...
DUBAI - Hardliners are set to tighten control of Iran this week in a parliamentary election stacked in their favor, as the leadership closes ranks in a deepening confrontation with Washington.
Such wide command of the power apparatus would open an era in which the elite Revolutionary Guards, already omnipresent in the life of the nation, hold ever greater sway in political, social and economic affairs. Faced with little choice, many voters are likely to be focused on bread-and-butter issues, in an economy hurt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran.
But Khamenei’s loyalist candidates are backed by core supporters of the establishment who identify in all aspects of life with the Islamic Republic, insiders said. But pro-reform voters are dismayed by disarray in their camp and the failure of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani to abide by an election pledge to ease social and political restrictions.
The slate of hardline candidates is dominated by the Guards, who answer directly to Khamenei, and their affiliated Basij militia, insiders and analysts say.
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