Iran: Hard-liners making gains as Iran votes

Conservative rivals of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were leading the race for parliament, according to early election results yesterday.

The success of candidates loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Friday’s elections would signal a difficult time ahead for Ahmadinejad in the remaining 18 months of his second term in office.

A predicted strong showing by Khamenei loyalists in Friday’s elections also suggests staunch support for Iran’s theocracy and its firm stance in the nuclear stand-off with the West. Early returns in capital Tehran confirmed this trend.