With only 25% of deputies in Iran's current parliament returning to office when their term ends on May 27, the fate of current parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who has held the position for the last eight years, will be the first major battle of the 10th parliament.
Iran's parliament, known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has been overwhelmingly dominated by conservatives and hard-liners since the 2012 election, an election Reformists largely boycotted. With the runoff elections in April, however, Reformists and moderates now have the largest faction, with 121 seats, while conservatives and independents have 83 and 81 seats, respectively. These results pave the way for former Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, who was elected May 17 to lead the Reformist "Hope faction" in parliament, to challenge Larijani.
