Hard-line former Tehran mayor named Iran parliament speaker
Associated PressDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s parliament elected a former mayor of Tehran tied to the Revolutionary Guard as its next speaker Thursday, solidifying hard-line control of the body as tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic remain high over its collapsed nuclear deal. The position also puts Qalibaf onto Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the country’s highest level body that handles defense and nuclear issues. Qalibaf then served as the head of the Guard’s air force, when in 1999 he co-signed a letter to reformist President Mohammad Khatami amid student protests in Tehran over the government closing a reformist newspaper and a subsequent security force crackdown. However, a leaked recording of a later meeting between Qalibaf and members of the Guard’s volunteer Basij force, included him claiming that he ordered gunfire be used against demonstrators in 2003, as well as praising the violence used in Iran’s 2009 Green Movement protests.
History of this topic
Parliament speaker. The Tehran mayor. A heart surgeon. The race is on for Iran’s next president
Associated PressIran’s hard-line parliament speaker emerges as the theocracy’s top figure in the presidential vote
Associated PressHard-liner Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf re-elected as speaker of Iran’s parliament
Associated Press
Ex-Iran parliament speaker registers to run for president
The Independent
The 2020 parliamentary election is causing much anxiety in Tehran
Al JazeeraDiscover Related
)
)
)
)
