.bmp)
.bmp)
TEHRAN-Conservatives won a majority in Iran's parliamentary vote, state television said on Sunday, but the new assembly may still give President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a tougher time ahead of next year's presidential election.Western powers embroiled in a deepening standoff with Tehran over its disputed nuclear plans condemned Friday's election as unfair after many reformist politicians, the hardline president's staunchest critics, were barred from running.But even though pro-reformers will only have a minority in the new legislature of world's fourth-largest oil-producer, analysts say they could team up with more moderate conservatives who have voiced concern about Ahmadinejad's economic policies blamed for surging inflation.State-owned Press TV said the conservatives, who call themselves "principlists" for loyalty to the Islamic Republic's ideals, have taken at least 163 seats in the 290-member assembly against 40 for the reformists so far.The English-language satellite channel, citing the Interior Ministry, said most votes had been counted. Some seats would go to run-offs and 47 winners were classified as independents. The conservatives also controlled the outgoing parliament.Iranian officials have hailed the election as a victory over the United States, the Islamic Republic's arch-foe, which on the day of voting said the result was "cooked"."More than 70 percent of parliament seats belong to principlists," Shahabeddin Sadr, projected to win a seat for the conservatives in Tehran, told Reuters. "It is a great honor that people put their trust in us again."But the European Union, whose main members agree with U.S. suspicions that Iran is making nuclear weapons, said the election was "neither fair nor free". To read more go to:As in the days of Noah...
