Ali Larijani, leading conservative & former nuclear negotiator, has been elected as speaker of Iran’s new parliament. Larijani won 232 votes out of a total of 263 ballots cast in parliament, which has a total of 287 members. Larijani is an unwavering conservative who nonetheless belongs to a growing group of hardliners critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

One of the top conservative figures in Iran, Larijani has held posts including top nuclear negotiator, state broadcasting chief, culture minister as well as unsuccessfully standing for president against Ahmadinejad in 2005. He typifies an increasingly prominent group in Iranian politics who remain rigidly loyal to the principles of the 1979 Islamic revolution but are distinctly lukewarm over the presidency of the ultra-conservative Ahmadinejad.