Hadad Withdraws from Presidential Race

Presidential candidate and former Majlis speaker Qolam-Ali Hadad Adel has withdrawn from the June 14 presidential race in favor of other principlist candidates. Hadad, along with Qalibaf and Velayati, was a member of the Coalition of 2+1. His withdrawal still leaves five “principlists” (conservatives of different shades) in the race.

File photo: Qolam-Ali Hadad Adel (IRNA)

Larijani Re-Elected Speaker of Majlis

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani fought off a serious challenge from Qolam Ali Hadad Adel to be reelected as the speaker in the newly seated Ninth Majlis. Larijani’s brother is the head of another branch of the government, the Judiciary, and another brother is a key ideologue and theoretician of the Islamic Republic. Larijani was the speaker of the Eighth Majlis, often leading MPs in fierce opposition to Ahmadinejad administration’s policies, and at times signaling Majlis’s readiness to impeach the embattled head of the executive branch. Both Larijani and Hadad are among the most loyal and fiercest supporters of the country’s all-powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.


UPDATE: One of our good readers has correctly reminded us that Larijani's selection was for the post of Interim/Acting Speaker, and as such he is not technically re-elected as speaker yet. My understanding is this is just a procedural matter. But many thanks to our friend and all our other longtime readers who have helped us throughout these years in many ways, including correcting our reporting, as in this case, or editing, etc. Thanks a million!

Conservatives and Religious Fundamentalists Win Parliamentary Elections in Iran

The United Principlist Front (UPF), a coalition of traditional conservative politicians loyal to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenie, won the runoff elections overwhelmingly. In Tehran, the UPF led by Qolam-Ali Hadad Adel, Khamenei’s senior advisor and father-in-law to his powerful son Mojtaba, will control 18 of the 30, or 60 percent of the seats. Preliminary results from the provinces show the same trend.

The Resistance Front (RF), a coalition of ultraconservative politicians led by the fundamentalist Shia senior cleric Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, has finished second in Tehran, capturing 33 percent of the seats. Two independent candidates were also elected in Tehran.

The supporters of President Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff Mashaie were big losers in the elections. They did not gain a single seat in Tehran and their prospects in the provinces were as bleak. Opposition figures and supporters of the Green Movement were not allowed to run in the elections.

The Ninth Majlis, the newly elected parliament, will convene late May. It is arguably the most right-wing Majlis in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Baghdad Talks Will Not Resolve All Issues – Hadad Adel

Gholam Ali Hadad Adel, the presumed next speaker of Majlis and a senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei today predicted that the Baghdad Talks on 23 May between Iran and world powers on the country's nuclear program would likely not resolve all issues.

"Iran expects the P5+1 group to put an end to the illogical sanctions in Baghdad, because the inefficiency of sanctions is proven even for Western leaders," Hadad Adel said. "They can show their goodwill through a trust-building effort by lifting the sanctions." [Mehr News Agency, 30 April].

“Although one should not expect for all issues to be resolved in Baghdad, we can assume the atmosphere of the talks will follow in the (positive) footsteps of Istanbul," he added.

Iran has sent signals suggesting it could negotiate over its 20-percent uranium enrichment process, but expects that Western-imposed sanctions to be eased off.