Ahmadinejad rivals rack up parliament wins in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran — Conservative rivals of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared on course Saturday to gain firm control of parliament after elections that could embolden Iran's nuclear defiance and give the ruling clerics a clear path to ensure a loyalist succeeds Ahmadinejad next year.

Although Iran's 290-seat parliament has limited sway over key affairs — including military and nuclear policies — the elections highlight the political narratives inside the country since Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in 2009 and sets the possible tone for his final 18 months in office.

Reformists were virtually absent from the ballot, showing the crushing force of crackdowns on the opposition. Instead, Friday's elections became a referendum on Ahmadinejad's political stature after he tried to challenge the near-total authority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to decide critical government policies such as intelligence and foreign affairs.

The apparent setbacks for Ahmadinejad's backers, according to early results, could signal a decisive blow in the internal political conflicts and give hard-liners an even stronger voice in Iran's showdowns over its nuclear program.

The results also greatly reduce Ahmadinejad's leverage to have a protege clear the ruling clerics' election vetting process and become a candidate to succeed him in mid-2013. It now seems likely that only staunch Khamenei loyalists could be in the running.

"It appears that the era of 'Ahmadinejadism' in Iran's political history is gradually coming to an end," said prominent Tehran-based political analyst Davoud Hermidas Bavand.

What that means is a much bigger comfort zone for the ruling system in a volatile time.

Khamenei said Friday that Iran was moving into a "sensitive period" in the confrontation over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, which the US and allies fear could lead to atomic weapons. Iran claims it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and medical research.

US President Obama is scheduled to hold talks Monday at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking US backing for a possible military action against Iran but has signaled that Israel was ready to go alone. Israeli officials, however, say no decisions have been made.

The Obama administration has so far backed stronger sanctions that have targeted Iran's ability to conduct international banking and sell its oil, which accounts for about 80 percent of Iran's revenue. But in advance of the Netanyahu meeting, Obama stepped up his warnings that it was "unacceptable" for Iran to become a nuclear-armed state because of links to militant groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and fears of touching off a regional arms race.