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Rafsanjani supporters upbeat despite another election defeat

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani suffers another political defeat, though his supporters remain upbeat.
EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani attends Iran's Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in Tehran March 8, 2011. Rafsanjani lost his position on Tuesday as head of an important state clerical body after hardliners criticised him for being too close to the reformist opposition.   REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2JLGP
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The loss in the March 10 Assembly of Experts elections of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani to former judiciary head Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi to chair the body that is tasked with electing and supervising Iran's supreme leader was a surprise to many Iran watchers. Though Yazdi’s tenure only lasts 10 months until the next assembly general elections, before the elections many had believed that Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, who took over as interim chairman when Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani fell ill, would not only run but be elected by the sitting members of the Assembly of Experts.

Despite the euphoria in hard-line media over another Rafsanjani defeat, supporters of the onetime chairman of the assembly and the current head of the Expediency Council appear to feel that despite the loss, Rafsanjani is still an influential political figure. They point to a reported meeting between Rafsanjani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently that they believe indicates he will continue to be one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic.

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