Iran's parliament speaker looks to form own party
Speaker of Iran's parliament, conservative politician Ali Larijani, sensing competition from his right, considers forming his own political party.
The conservative political factions in Iran have faced many splits. With the death of Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani and Habibollah Asgar Oladi, two influential figures who played a mediator role between the various factions, the conservatives' problems have worsened and they are farther from unity today than ever before. Ali Larijani, the speaker of parliament, is trying to form a broad party to rebuild some unity among conservatives and to maintain his position as speaker while warding off more extreme factions.
Larijani becomes speaker of the parliament
