Iran’s Hardliners Win Election by Large Margin, Mehr Says

  • Arch-conservatives ease to victory, sidelining Rouhani
  • Coronavirus deaths may have worsened already low turnout
Photographer: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
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Iranian hardliners won a majority in parliamentary elections, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency, sweeping Tehran and other cities in a repudiation of President Hassan Rouhani’s engagement with outside powers.

Mehr didn’t give a final breakdown, saying that more than 220 out of 290 members of parliament will be hardliners and conservatives. The official turnout was 42.5%, the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic.