Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf re-elected as speaker of Iran’s Parliament

Dubai: Iran’s parliament re-elected hard-liner Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Tuesday as its speaker, reaffirming its hard-right makeup in

the wake of a helicopter crash that killed the country’s president and foreign minister.

Of 287 lawmakers voting, 198 backed Qalibaf to retain the position he first took in 2021.

He initially became speaker following a string of failed presidential bids and 12 years as the leader of Iran’s capital city, in which he built onto

Tehran’s subway and supported the construction of modern high-rises.

Many, however, know Qalibaf for his support, as a Revolutionary Guard general, for a violent crackdown on Iranian university students

in 1999.