Iranian principlists
The Principlists (Persian: اصولگرایان, romanized: Osul-Garāyān, lit. 'followers of principles or fundamentalists'), also interchangeably known as the Iranian Conservatives and formerly referred to as the Right or Right-wing, are one of two main political camps inside post-revolutionary Iran, the other being Reformists. The term hardliners that some western sources use in the Iranian political context usually refers to the faction, although the principlist camp also includes more centrist tendencies.
Principlists | |
|---|---|
| Spiritual leader | Ali Khamenei |
| Parliamentary leader | Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf |
| Ideology | Islamism Political Islam Theocracy Vilayat Faqih Factions: Traditionalism Populism Pragmatism Fundamentalism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
| Executive branch | |
| President | Yes |
| Ministers | 18 / 19 (95%) |
| Vice Presidents | 10 / 10 (100%) |
| Parliament | |
| Speaker | Yes |
| Seats | 240 / 290 (83%) |
| Judicial branch | |
| Chief Justice | Yes |
| Status | Dominant |
| Oversight bodies | |
| Assembly of Experts | 66 / 88 (75%) |
| Guardian Council | Dominant |
| Expediency Council | Dominant |
| City Councils | |
| Tehran | 21 / 21 (100%) |
| Mashhad | 15 / 15 (100%) |
| Isfahan | 13 / 13 (100%) |
| Shiraz | 9 / 13 (69%) |
| Qom | 13 / 13 (100%) |
| Shiraz | 13 / 13 (100%) |
| Tabriz | 6 / 13 (46%) |
| Yazd | 11 / 11 (100%) |
| Rasht | 9 / 11 (82%) |
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| Conservatism |
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The camp rejects the status quo internationally, but tends to preserve it domestically.
Within Iranian politics, "principlist" refers to the conservative supporters of the Supreme Leader of Iran and advocates for protecting the ideological "principles" of the Islamic Revolution's early days. According to Hossein Mousavian, "The Principlists constitute the main right-wing/conservative political movement in Iran. They are more religiously oriented and more closely affiliated with the Qom-based clerical establishment than their moderate and reformist rivals".
A declaration issued by The Two Societies, which serves as the Principlists "manifesto", focuses on loyalty to Islam and the Iranian Revolution, obedience to the Supreme Leader of Iran, and devotion to the principle of Vilayat Faqih.
According to a poll conducted by the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) in April 2017, 15% of Iranians identify as leaning Principlist. In comparison, 28% identify as leaning Reformist.
The Principlists currently dominate the Assembly of Experts, as well as non-elective institutions such as the Guardian Council, the Expediency Discernment Council, and the Judiciary.