Following their electoral defeat against the Reformists, Iran’s conservatives appear to be grappling with greater internal differences than ever before. Indeed, the multitude of voices coming out of the Principlist camp seem to have reached an all-time high, and in the absence of one political leader, this could become an Achilles’ heel for them.
These internal differences began as candidates launched their campaigns in the run-up to the May 19 presidential elections. The majority of the conservatives entered the electoral scene under the umbrella of the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, better known by its Persian acronym, JAMNA. Through its selection mechanism, amounting to a primary of sorts, JAMNA ultimately agreed on two main Principlist candidates: Ebrahim Raisi, the custodian of the holy shrine of the eighth Shiite imam, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s former mayor.
